You will be mine
by MorgauseNokami
Summary: A lustcrazed Saiyan woman, a Saiyan man who tries to save their friendship and a twisted bet. Can Pan seduce Trunks before the moon is full – and does he even want her to fail? Finished.
1. Heads I win, tails you lose

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ and I make no money out of this. Unfortunately. (If anyone _wants_ to pay me, email me!)

Chapter 1

_Heads I win, tails you lose_

Pan stared. He didn't notice, of course. Nobody noticed. But when she was sure noone was looking, she stared.

How could she not? Trunks could very well have been the most perfect creature on the planet. She loved to watch him move, smile, look at everything as intently as she looked at him. She knew his behaviour by heart, from the way he talked to the seeming arrogance in his appearance.

She didn't know how she really felt about him. She was attracted to him as she had never been attracted to anybody else, she knew that for sure. His scent alone was enough to drive her crazy. His mere presence made her think only of how good it would feel to have his body against her, above her, in her. She knew she had a crush on him, big time. Fortunately she was so comfortable with him that him looking at her or touching her didn't make her blush. It made her weak in her knees, but he didn't know.

She had studied him for years, ever since the moment she noticed how beautiful he really was. She had known she was too young to do anything, then. But she had made herself a promise. When she was twenty, she had told herself, she would be old enough to act on that attraction.

xoxox

"So," Trunks asked, his hands in his pockets and leaning against the wall of her house, smiling pleasantly at her. "What do you want for your birthday?"

Pan smirked slowly, inwardly debating as she silently admired the way his skin turned pale silver in the moonlight. Tell him or not? Challenge him? Provoke him? It was her only chance, she knew. Trunks was oblivious to hints, the only method that worked on him was the straight-forward one. He _had_ promised to give her whatever she wanted, although she was sure he had something quite different in mind. Maybe a dog, or a vacation to a tropical island, or a car, possibly.

He was looking at her, his eyebrows raised. She looked back at him, still smirking in order to hide how he was making her feel. His mere presence was enough to drive her crazy with longing. From the way he filled out his shirts so very nicely to the way he brushed his hair out of his beautiful skyblue eyes, _everything_ about him was enticing.

And he didn't know that. Although he knew the effect he had on women (oh boy, did he know! And that self-confident arrogance was dangerously attractive in its own way), he was oblivious to the fact that he had that same effect on her, little Panny-girl, his second baby-sister. He'd sooner expect _Goten_ to fall for him than her.

He was in for a _big_ surprise. Yes, she decided, she would tell him. There was nothing to lose. Although they had their ups and downs, their bond was too strong to break. Besides, she couldn't really regard him as a friend. Not anymore. Not when she felt like this.

"Well?" Trunks called, obviously puzzled when she kept silent.

Pan looked down at her feet, gathering courage. Despite her brave thoughts, she was scared to death. Wouldn't it be a better idea to sneak herself into his life even more and wait until she was certain he had feelings for her? It was safer, definitely, but what if someone snatched him away from her while she was waiting? No, she _had_ to take the chance.

"You," she said, lifting her head to look up at him, her hair falling away from her face. She wiped it behind her ear in a thoughtless gesture as she glanced at him, waiting for his reaction.

"Me?" For a moment his face was blank, then it lightened up as he understood. Or thought so, at least. "Oh, like going somewhere, just the two of us? That's cool, Panny. You have a date in mind?"

Pan smiled slowly, amused, pushing her fear down until it was just a numb feeling in her stomach. "No, Trunks. I want _you_." She paused, still looking at him. "I _want_ you," she repeated, her voice a few tones lower.

Trunks blinked. Then his eyebrows rose until he looked almost panicked. "Pan? What _are_ you talking about?"

Pan sighed, her fear momentarily overruled by her exasperation. "I don't know how I can make this clearer for you." She paused again, thoughtful, then chuckled silently. "You promised I could have anything for my birthday."

Realisation finally seemed to hit him. "Not – not like _that_," he stuttered. "You can't have _me_!"

It felt like a slap in her face. She would slink away, she would tell him it was a joke, she would pretend this had never happened–

_No_. She had made a promise to herself. She _would_ have him. No matter what, he was a guy and she was a girl. He might not notice the electricity between them, but that did not mean it was not there. Even if he was not and would never be attracted to her, she could still have him. If need be, alcohol could do the trick.

She looked up at him again, bracing herself. He was still staring at her, a bewildered look on his face.

"I want you, Trunks Vegeta Briefs, and I _will_ have you," she said, her voice soft but tense, challenging him with her eyes as she stepped closer to him.

He shook his head, a bemused smirk appearing on his face, as if he still did not know what to think. "I'm not… I don't like you like that, Pan. It's impossible."

Again a slap in her face, but she laughed as if she did not care. "I am not asking, Trunks," she stated and again stepped closer to him. She was so close to him now that her toes touched his, but he did not back away. He merely looked at her, chin high, eyelids lowered, one brow raised, smirking. She recognised the look as amused disdain. Pretty much Trunks at his most dangerous – not to mention hottest.

"Then what is this, Pan? A bet?"

She laughed again. "I already told you, Trunks, this _will_ happen. But if you want to lay a wager..."

"You're awfully confident, aren't you?" he said, smirking down at her. "What makes you so certain that you will... succeed?"

She looked at him, startled for a moment. _Because I _know, she answered silently. _Because there is no way I can want you this much and not have you. Life can't be that unfair._

But she didn't tell him that. Instead she leaned forward until she almost touched her body to his, letting her body heat and her scent wash over him. "Because you're a man and I'm a woman," she said, her voice low and sultry, her breath tickling the bare skin of his collarbones. She lifted her head up, all but brushing his earlobe with her lips. "What makes you so certain that you don't want me?" she whispered and immediately backed away, jumping in the air. "Fine, Trunks Vegeta Briefs. It's a bet. And one you can't win, either." She smiled, knowing without a doubt that her smile was more Vegeta-like than Goku-like at the moment, in spite of her genes.

"Happy birthday," he called after her as she jumped through the window into her room.

She smiled to herself, amazed by her daring and somehow terribly amused. "I'd better go to sleep before I realise what I've done," she muttered, still grinning, and ran to the bathroom.

xoxox

AN: I'm starting new stories waaay too often. shakes head at self But I loved this idea too much to not immediately start. As you can guess, this is to be continued (and I think the next chapters will be longer, because this is awfully short). And I know the title is lame, but it's the song's title! (so yeah, that makes it a songfic, though you won't be seeing the lyrics anywhere besides the chapter title). Also: still needing a beta-reader glances at Faer Still busy with your exams?


	2. I always play by my own rules

Chapter 2

_I always play by my own rules_

It had been a wise decision to go to sleep before she realised what she had done. Around five in the morning it finally hit her and she couldn't possibly go to sleep again. She was sitting up in bed, clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug into the flesh of her hands. "Oh god oh god, oh _Dende,_ what have I done?" she muttered frantically, staring blankly at her wall. "I am _never_ going to be able to see him again! I made a complete fool out of myself!" She bit her lip, trying to calm herself. "I know, I'll blame it on the alcohol." She paused. "_Was_ there alcohol? Does he know that I didn't drink any? Wait, maybe he drank and he doesn't remember anything of this!"

"Pan?" A knock on her door. "Are you alright?"

Pan laughed nervously. "I'm fine, Dad!"

"Are you sure?" came her father's worried voice. "It sounded like you were talking to yourself…"

"It happens, dad," she called, hoping that he would leave her alone.

"If you're really sure…" Gohan said, uncertain.

"I am, Daddy. Go back to bed," she said, smiling a little as she heard her father walk back to her parents' room. She knew _exactly_ how he looked now, his dark eyes full concern, a hand in his hair, ready to go into protective-daddy mode. It was only one of the many reasons why she loved him so much.

She bit her lip again. And Trunks? She loved him too. Even if she wasn't sure about the romantic way, she definitely loved him as a friend. Had she just done _the_ one thing to lose him completely? Yesterday she was sure their bond was too strong to break. At the moment she wasn't so certain.

She glanced at her alarm clock. Five thirty. It was useless to try to go to sleep now, she might as well get up. If she was fast, she could maybe even catch Vegeta on his morning training and coax him into sparring with her. She could use something to take her mind off Trunks.

She slapped her forehead. Sparring with Vegeta would mean going to Capsule Corps, which meant seeing Trunks. She didn't know how to act, what to do, what to say to him. She could try and talk herself out of this, tell him it was a joke, that he shouldn't take things like that seriously. But did she want to talk herself out of this? No matter what, this _was_ a chance. Besides, it was a bet now, and Pan Son did not lose bets.

She sighed as she got up and started digging in her closet. If she was going to do this, she might as well dress to impress.

xoxox 

Pan stood in the Capsule Corps garden, trying to decide what to do. She hoped that she could find Bulma or Bra to ask where Vegeta was before Trunks came down and noticed her. If either of them was up already, that is.

Front door, back door, kitchen door? Everybody's ki was so low that she could not point out where exactly they were. She definitely did not want to bump into Trunks but avoiding him was rather hard when she did not know where he was.

Eventually she flew up to Bra's room and knocked on the window.

It took three more knocks for the window to break. Pan cursed and Bra jumped up, her eyes wide. "What the hell?.." she exclaimed, saw Pan behind the broken window who was smiling sheepishly, and groaned. "Pan, not _again_," she sighed, wiping her blue hair out of her face. She scrambled out of her bed, trying to detangle her feet from the covers. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she glanced around.

"I wanted to ask Vegeta if he wanted to spar," Pan explained. She raised her eyebrows at Bra. "What are you looking for?"

"Shoes," Bra said, rolling her eyes. "Obviously. I don't want glass in my feet."

"You can _fly_, Bra," Pan sighed. "Besides, if you power up, the glass can't even penetrate your skin."

"I don't want to attract my dad's attention," Bra muttered, but she levitated anyway. "He's busy."

Pan looked at her friend oddly. Had Bra ever been reluctant to bother her father?

"He's with my mom," Bra explained, getting a bit red in her face. "You know. Don't make me say it out loud, it's bad enough that you made me think about it."

"Oh!" Pan exclaimed, also blushing faintly. "No, definately don't want to go there. Kay."

Bra looked at her window and sighed. The window-sill and the floor under it were covered with glass fragments. "Thank you, Pan. What a lovely way to wake up, and at this hour, too."

Pan blushed darker. "I'll clean it up for you," she said meekly and started wiping the glass into a pile.

Bra shook her head. "Never mind, leave it alone. The house robots will clean it up." She looked over her shoulder, looking around her room, then floated to her closet and started picking out clothes.

Pan was still floating outside. She opened the window, careful not to cut herself on the glass fragments that were still in the window frame, and flew through it.

"I'm gonna take a shower, first. Why don't you go downstairs and get something to eat? I know you're hungry," Bra suggested, not even looking up from her closet. The blue-haired girl was comparing the color of two red shirts, frowning slightly.

Pan laughed. There was no one who could make such a point out of clothes as Bra. "Considering the fact that picking out your clothes alone is going to take you thirty minutes, I think I'll go do that," she said grinning and left the room. Bra did not even acknowledge her.

Only when she entered the kitchen she realised what a stupid idea this had been. Hungry or not, if she wanted to avoid Trunks, this was the last place she should go to. Sooner or later he would show up here. No Saiyan could ignore the calling of food for long.

She made a beeline for the other door, the one that lead outside, when she heard low chucking behind her.

"Running away from me now, Panny?" a much too familiar voice called tauntingly. "I thought you wanted to be close to me?"

Pan twirled around, seething, as Trunks continued, his voice purposely a few tones lower: "You know you want me."

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him. He was standing in the doorway, face hidden behind his silky, lavender hair. He was only wearing jeans. T_ight_ jeans. His lightly tanned chest was smooth and muscled and a very thin line of dark hairs trailed from his navel down to disappear under his pants. Muscles in his chest and arm tensed and relaxed as he reached up to wipe his hair from his face. His eyes were deepblue as the sea and obviously amused.

"Pan, you're staring," he smirked and walked into the kitchen, simply brushing past her as she breathed in deeply to savor his scent.

Pan finally pulled herself together and shook her head, trying to get something like a cognitive thought in her mind.

He was doing this on purpose. He knew she wanted him, he had known she was in here and he had decided to tease her. She wanted to be angry with him, but she could not. He was playing her at her own game, and he was better at it, too. Perhaps he had done it only to find out if she was serious, if she really wanted him, or maybe it was the cruel arrogance that could drive him from time to time.

Either way, he now definitely knew it. He had, after all, the infamous saiyan sense of smell and Pan was so turned on right now that even a human man could have smelled it. Her cheeks burned in shame as she stood there, but he did not even look at her as he rummaged about in the cupboards.

She breathed in deeply. There was one way to turn this back on him. What could turn a man on more than smelling a turned on woman?

He only noticed her when she touched his shoulder. He turned around, eyebrows high. "Pan?"

She put one hand on his chest and slowly slid it up to his shoulder. The puzzled look on his face could have been hilarious if she had not been so close that she could smell him, feel his heat on her skin. She leaned into him until her breasts pressed against his chest and curved her back so that her whole body was touching his. She pushed up her hips only a bit and he made a tiny sound in the back of his throat. She stared up at him, her mouth so very close to his neck, and breathed against his collar bone.

And then Vegeta walked in, watching them, an arrogantly amused look on his face. Pan could feel her cheeks grow hot but she pulled herself away from Trunks only slowly, grudgingly. She didn't need saiyan senses to know that that had made him quite hot, too, and the last thing she wanted to do was pull apart from him. But now that his father had walked in, she knew that his mind would kick in any second. He would realise what had happened and would not be too pleased.

She shot one last lingering look at him and then skipped past Vegeta out of the kitchen. _Let him think about that for a while,_ she thought, satisfied, and ran back to Bra's room.

xoxox

AN: I'm sorry, don't hit me, I know I took long! hides I've been on vacation (to Rome! Just a friend and I! So very cool) and had exams and graduated, so…

Still looking for a beta reader, look at my info if you think you're qualified, if you still think you're qualified, then by all means do tell me.


	3. And I don't believe in wasting time

Chapter 3

_And I don't believe in wasting time_

Pan was sitting on Bra's bed, watching the house robots sweep up the lasts bits of glass and even replacing the broken pieces in the window frame. Those robots were getting more versatile every year, she observed. She smiled, remembering the many windows that she, Bra, Goten and Trunks had broken. Perhaps it had been a necessary addition to their program. 

She could hear low humming coming from behind the closed bathroom door. Bra really was taking her time. What on Earth could she be doing in there? She did not understand how anyone could spend longer than ten minutes in a shower, unless they were with someone else. Washing yourself did not take that much time, did it?

Bored, she glanced around the room. Bra had obviously been changing everything again. Had she had that pink couch last week, or that cute little silver table? Those posters were definitely new. Old black and white movie posters, Pan reckoned. They looked good on the pale lavender walls. 

She sniggered. The walls were almost exactly the color of Trunks' hair. Would Bra have done that on purpose? She could perfectly imagine Bra dragging Trunks to the paint store to compare his hair to the colors there, and making him carry everything back, too.  

"What are you laughing about?" Bra demanded, coming out of the bathroom, while drying her hair with a pink towel. Another pink towel was wrapped around her curvy figure. 

"Nothing to concern your pretty little head with," Pan teased. "I can't believe even your towels match your room," she continued, looking at the other girl with dislike. 

Bra grinned. "I have always been better at designing than you, and you know it." She dropped the towels shamelessly. Pan tried to not look very jealous as the blue-haired girl squeezed herself in very tight jeans and a dark purple tank-top. She had always been the better fighter, despite the fact that Bra was a half Saiyan and she was only a quarter; but Bra would always be the prettiest of them.

She huffed, throwing a pillow at her best friend's head. "Yeah, and you're obsessive."

Bra smiled angelically. "You say that like it's a bad thing." She dropped down on the bed next to Pan, grabbed a brush seemingly out of nowhere and started brushing her still wet hair back. "So, what are we going to do today?"

Pan shrugged and let herself fall backwards on the bed, sinking deep between the covers. The dark purple blanket itched under her bare arms and she scratched her elbow, slightly irritated. "What do you want to do?" she asked, looking at Bra upside down. 

"I'd say shopping, but you won't come with me anyway," Bra grinned down at her friend.

Pan scrunched her nose. "Well, actually, I could use some new clothes." She decided not to add the words 'a whole new style', because that would make Bra drag her through stores until Pan had a wardrobe as big as hers. She did need a new style if she wanted to get to Trunks, though. Not too different, no skanky clothes. Something decent but appealing. 

"Really?" Bra exclaimed enthousiastically. "It's been ages since we went shopping!"

Pan nodded, slightly distracted. Was she insane, doing this for a guy? She had once promised herself that a guy should like her for who she was, not for how she appeared. She was not about to take that back, but seduction had to do with bodies. How was Trunks supposed to like her body if he couldn't even see it, hidden under layers of wide clothing? 

"You're too silent," Bra observed. "There is a catch. You want me to spar with you, don't you?"

Pan smirked. She hadn't even thought about it, but Bra had handed her a good idea. "Yes."

Bra sighed dramatically. "Fine. First shopping, then sparring."

Pan's stomach growled loudly. Bra glanced at her best friend. "I thought you'd gotten food?"

Pan blushed brightly. "Ah, well, yes, I… didn't."

Bra raised an eyebrow – a Briefs trick that Pan was insanely jealous of. "Why not?" she asked.

"There was… a- a bit of an incident," Pan stuttered, waving her hand in the air. 

"Incident?" Bra repeated, unbelievingly. 

"Yes, well, never mind now. Hurry up, I'm hungry!" Pan jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, refusing to look at the blue-haired girl. 

*^*^*^*^*

Pan halted in the doorway. Trunks was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper and stuffing his mouth with sandwiches. He did not acknowledge her. Neither did his father, who was sitting in front of him. 

"Hey, Pan," Bulma called from where she stood at the refrigerator. "You're early."

Pan smiled sheepishly and walked into the room. "Yeah. Bra and I are going shopping." 

Vegeta looked up. "So you will be sparring, later." He did not even ask, he knew. 

Bra beamed at her father, breezing into the kitchen, brushing past her friend. "Are we that predictable?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

"Yes," Trunks confirmed without looking up. Bra hit him over the head without even pausing her walk and Pan sniggered from her spot in the doorway.

Trunks looked up at her. "I need to talk to you, Pan," he said, his voice low and serious. 

Crap. Her heart began to beat ten times as fast. What was it, now? "Go right ahead," she said lightly, not quite looking him in the eyes. Everyone in the kitchen seemed to be watching them.

"You don't want to talk about that here," he said, smiling coolly. 

Her heart thundered. _Crap._ She wasn't ready to _talk_, would probably never be ready to talk about this. Since when did people talk in games like these? 

"Fine," she said, still not looking at him. "Now?" 

He stood up, answering her question without words. 

Bra looked at them oddly. "What's this? You're keeping a secret from us, aren't you?"

"Obviously," said Trunks, a big, fake smile on his face. Bra merely growled at him.

Pan sighed, threw her hands up in the air and stalked out of the room. "And again with the foodlessness," she grumbled under her breath. She stalked to Trunks' room without looking back to see if he followed her. 

She heard him closing the door behind her. Her hands were trembling, her stomach clenching. She bit her lip and clenched her fists so tight that her nails were digging in her flesh. She was afraid, terrified that he was angry with her for what she did. She had never liked Trunks being angry with her, but this was different. She was playing for high stakes now. How could she ever have Trunks if he was furious with her?

"We need to set rules."

She turned around, looking at him in surprise. "What?"

Trunks looked at her, his face oddly emotionless. "Rules. The way it is now, you're the only one who can win. I can only not lose." 

She fumbled with her hands, pressing the nails of her left hand in the fingertips of the other. She hadn't even thought about that. She had just thought about how she would win, how she would have to win. 

"You are supposed to lose," she said, but the nervous tremble in her voice ruined the effect her words were supposed to have. He only smirked at her. 

"I reckoned a time limit should do the trick. You'll have till the next full moon," he continued.

Only until the next full moon?! "I wasn't thinking in deadlines when this started," she said indignantly, chewing on the inside of her cheek. 

"You're saying you can't do it?" He smiled at her languidly. She could have drowned in his half-lidded eyes had she not been this angry with him. Why did he have to look so good when he was being so arrogantly evil?

"Ofcourse I can do it," she huffed, aggrieved, before she realised she had fallen for his trick. 

He smirked again. "Great, that's settled." 

She could have smacked herself. 

"Oh, and what's at stake?"

Pan looked at him again, trying not to let alarm show up on her face. "Stake..?" she repeated stupidly.

"If you lay a wager, there has to be something at stake," Trunks explained calmly. She wanted to claw that smug expression off his face. 

"Now, what can you get me that I want? It's obvious that you'll get what you want if you win," he went on. As usual, his arrogant attitude awoke conflicting emotions in her. She hated it, because it was at her expense, but _Dende_ did he look sexy when he was pleased with himself. She seethed and ignored the burning feeling in her lower abdomen.

"Maybe there is something I want even more than you, Trunks Vegeta Briefs," she hissed. 

"I think not," Trunks said, very self-satisfied. "I would have given you anything for your birthday and you knew that. I am what you want."

"I hate you, Trunks," she fumed, clenching her fists even tighter. 

He didn't even hide his amusement. "Sure you do." She growled, but he ignored her.

"So I was thinking, if I win, you could get me a date with Marron," he continued airily.

Her mouth dropped. "_What?!_"

"She really is quite the cutie, but I never got around to asking her out. You know her better than me, now, so why don't you set something up when you lose?" 

She stared at him in disbelief. He was looking back at her, not smirking now, that odd, emotionless look in his eyes. 

"You want me to get you a date with Marron," she repeated, still staring at him. He nodded, gazing back at her.

She looked away. "You know I said I hate you, right?" she said, her voice void of emotion. He did not answer.

"I was wrong. _This_ is hate." She strode out of the room, not even looking at him.

"That's settled, then," he called after her, his voice echoing through the hallway. "It's a bet."

~*^*#$#*^*~

AN: Still letting the story be carried too much by the dialogue, I fear. *blushes* Trying to work on that, you know. Chose which way this story is going, thanks to Qimm and Icegaze, so now we're actually working with a plot! That's new. Also, the Noseless Wonder betaed this. Thanks a lot, girl!

So, what's Trunks up to? And how is Pan going to win this bet? _Is_ she even going to win? Find out next time on 'You will be mine' *winks*


	4. An unwritten law says a girl should wait

Chapter 4

_An unwritten law says a girl should wait_

"There is a very thin line between love and hate."

Pan started as Vegeta came out of the shadows of the hallway. The Prince of the Saiyans seemed to look down at her, even though he was only an inch taller. He had a way of holding himself that made her feel like she was a low being, only grudgingly accepted in his personal space. She knew he was doing it on purpose, but it made her nervous. Well, at this moment it only succeeded in pissing her off more.

"You were eavesdropping," she growled, baring her teeth at the man.

He chuckled haughtily. "Perhaps you should not talk so loud." He cocked his head, smirking at her. "I already knew what you were up to, anyway." 

She narrowed her eyes. "Care to explain?" 

"A Saiyan female in heat. Do you really think I wouldn't notice?" The smirk on his face was so much like his son's that she had to keep herself from smacking him. 

"Do you really think that you can claim him as yours? You're nothing but a low class. You're not even half Saiyan," Vegeta continued. 

Pan shook her head, seeting while fighting to keep her power level under control. "Like father, like son," she spat and walked down the hallway as fast as she could without running, trying to ignore the saiyan's arrogant laughter behind her. 

She stomped down the stairs angrily. "I _hate_ Saiyan men," she growled to herself and kicked an unsuspecting umbrella stand. It fell over with a bang and several umbrellas fell out. She uttered a dirty explitive and bent over to pick up the mess.

She was furious with Trunks, but even more furious with herself. How could she have thought that Trunks would have let her get away with things so easily? Trunks was like her – he did everything he possibly could to win a bet and he would not be satisfied with merely _not_ losing. But it was not fair. She had not started this… game, if you like, to seduce him in a short period of time, she had merely stated that she wanted him and was going to have him. She hadn't even considered the idea of a deadline, it was ridiculous. The only reason why she had said anything about wanting him in the first place, was that she wanted Trunks to see her as an adult and as possibly sexually interesting. Had she not said anything, he would have looked at her as his little sister for the rest of his life. 

It would not have been too hard to work from possibly sexually interesting to definitely sexually interesting, _if she had the time._ But it was not even a month until the next full moon. The whole thing was impossible and Trunks new it. He had found _the_ way to put her down by giving her an unfeasible task. Especially when she had to get him a date with Marron if-if? When, more likely, she lost. Did he _want_ her to hate him?

She abruptly sat down on the cool floor, next to the fallen umbrella stand. Or had that been his purpose? She knew she had shocked him immensely by her words the night before, that the mere idea of her lusting after him bewildered him beyond reason. Was his intention to make her despise him so much that she did not want him anymore? 

It was just the idea for Trunks, she huffed, faintly grinning. He would think he was saving their friendship. He just did not realise, the stupid goof, how hard it was for her to be friends with him when she could not even think straight when she was around him.****

She suddenly smirked wickedly. Oh, but he would realise. Impossible task or not, she was going to give him one hard time. 

"Finally," Bra called indignantly when Pan once again stepped into the kitchen. "I have been waiting for hours! Just what have you two been doing?"

Pan made a face. "I just listened to your male family members being assholes." She made a pass for the table, but the older girl grabbed her by her arm and started dragging her outside. "No food," she said firmly. "You should have thought about that before you went and spend ages in Trunks' room."

"But Bra," whimpered Pan pitifully, "it wasn't my fault!"

Bra shook her head. "No buts, little lady, you simply shouldn't have picked my brother over me." 

Pan opened her mouth to say something, but Bra cut her off. "I said _no_."

Pan shook her head, chuckling in amused exasperation, and let herself be dragged away. "Fine, slave-driver." 

Only when Bra pushed her out of the kitchen she seemed to notice something. 

"Pan?" 

The black-haired girl raised her eyebrows. "Yes?" 

Her friend was looking at her, a bemused frown on her pretty face. "Since when do you actually show cleavage?"

Pan self-consciously crossed her arms over her chest. "Since I have this shirt and actually like it," she answered, hoping that she did not blush. She did in fact like the shirt, despite the fact that she wasn't very comfortable in it. It was tight and dark red and if she looked down she could see more of her breasts than she was used to. It did, however, show off her figure nicely without making it seem as if that was her intention. It surprised her that the blue-haired girl had not noticed it before now, being the fashion freak that she was. Bra had never been a morning person, though. The girl would probably miss her father in a pink skirt if it was early. 

The blue-haired girl had been looking at her oddly, one eyebrow raised, but now she smiled happily. "It looks good on you, Pan," she said sincerely and continued dragging her friend outside. 

*^*^*^*^*

It was almost noon and the shopping was over for today. Pan and Bra were sitting in an outdoor café; Bra sipping a milkshake through a straw, Pan shoving French fries into her mouth at an alarming rate. People rushed past them on the sidewalks, not even taking their time to enjoy the sunlight. Pan shook her head as she looked at them. There were reasons why she preferred the countryside to the city, and the apparent inability of city folk to enjoy simple things like the weather was one of them. Only the people who were sitting in outdoor cafés like them seemed to be basking themselves in the warming rays. 

The sun was getting hot. Pan almost felt sorry that she had not let Bra talk her into changing into her new shorts instead of the heavy, dark jeans she was wearing now. She was going to have to find something cooler for the sparring, she decided and sighed. As if it wasn't enough that she was actually wearing this shirt. The weather was against her.  

"So are you going to tell me what's up with you and Trunks?" Bra questioned out of nowhere. 

Pan almost choked on a french fry. "Definitely not," she threw out before going into a coughing fit. 

Bra slapped her on the back, perhaps a little harder than necessary. "I'm your friend, Pan. I deserve to know what's going on in your life, especially when it involves my dearest brother."

Pan wiped the tears from coughing so hard out of her eyes. "It's nothing, Bra, really."

Bra held her milkshake up to her friend, offering her a draught, but Pan waved it away. 

The blue-haired girl looked at her intently, unnerving her friend. "I know," she said thoughtfully. Pan bit the inside of her cheek, confused and a bit frightened. Had the other girl heard their conversation? Could she mind-read as her dad sometimes could?

"He got you pregnant and he's trying to get you to get rid of it," Bra decided happily. 

Pan went into another coughing fit. Bra slapped her on the back again, giggling. 

"Bra!" Pan yelled when she could breathe again, blushing fiercely. "How can you even _think_ that? And why would Trunks have gotten me pregnant in the first place?!"

"Oh, come on, Pan," Bra scoffed. "I've seen the way you look at him. Plus, you're an attractive girl and Trunks is a player, he'll do you. There's no reason for you two not to get on with the baby making."

"Bra, please!" Pan exclaimed, bewildered. "As if I want to do _that_ with every cute guy I know. Besides, did you even consider the age difference?"

Bra smiled, very self-satisfied. The resemblance with Trunks was uncanny; nobody could doubt she was his sister when she did that. "We're Saiyans, Pan. Perhaps you didn't notice, but we don't age like humans do. Why do you think Goten and Trunks, or even our dads still look so young?"

Pan glared at her. "I'm not stupid, Bra. But the fact that we're Saiyans doesn't mean that my human side doesn't make a point out of the age issue." That was true, and that, beside the fact that they were friends and their families were so close, bothered her most. She knew that Saiyans aged slower than normal human beings, she could see it with Vegeta and Bulma and her own parents. Goten and Trunks barely looked older than her and Bra – despite the fact that they were thirteen and fourteen years their seniors – but mentally, they _were_ older. They had much more life experience than the girls. The fact that the next generation of Z-fighters were all friends was strange enough – that two of them could get a relationship to work out would be a small miracle.

Bra shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you're right," she admitted, "but I personally never made an issue out of it, I don't think any of us did. I mean, Marron is one of my best friends and she's seven years older than me."

Pan kept silent, staring at her empty plate. Maybe Bra was right. Besides, it wasn't as if she was looking for a long time relationship. She was just after getting what she had wanted for so long.

"It's Marron's birthday next week," Bra changed subjects. She poked the hamburger that was lying on her plate, untouched. "I don't think this is edible," she muttered, more to herself than to Pan. "I think I saw something move just now."

"Even I wouldn't eat that," Pan stated, scrunching her nose. She was wiping her hands on a napkin when Bra's remark finally hit home. "Marron's birthday?" she exclaimed. "Crap, I had completely forgotten about that! I still need to find her a present."

Bra grinned at her friend. "And suddenly I see that you're related to Goku." 

Pan smacked her with the dirty napkin. "As if my super strength didn't show that already," she boasted, smirking. 

Bra wiped her arm, looking disgusted. "Don't touch me with that filthy thing," she muttered angrily. Pan just laughed at her. 

"So anyway," Bra continued, wiping her arm with her own napkin, "we're all invited to her house. I think we're gonna go clubbing, hang about, watch a movie or something."

Pan frowned. Great, that meant spending a whole night close to Trunks. It would be a perfect opportunity if they had been alone, but with their friends present, it would just be torture. No doubt Trunks would find a way to provoke her and pester her until she snapped, and humiliate her in front of her friends. 

She shook her head. Why on earth did she like him? He was nothing but mean to her.

_That's not true,_ a little voice in the back of her head whispered. _He is cruel, yes. But he's also intelligent, sweet, funny and_ God _he's hot._

"…and then Goten, Marron, Uub and I had the biggest gangbang and now Marron and I are both pregnant," Bra concluded. 

Pan blinked. "Come again?" 

Bra rolled her eyes. "Really, Pan, could you not faze out when I'm talking? It makes me feel horribly uninteresting."

"You _are_ horribly uninteresting," Pan smirked, earning a blow over the head from her the other girl. She glanced at their plates, empty safe for the uneaten hamburger on Bra's. "Go home and spar?" she suggested sweetly. 

To her surprise Bra nodded almost eagerly. "You deserve to be beaten for that comment," she said, grinning wickedly. 

Pan smiled, pleased. "Off we go, then," she said, and kept taunting her friend to actually get a decent fight when they were home.

*^*^*^*^*

"Gotcha now," Pan threw out, more gasping than smirking. She was pinning Bra down on the floor of the gravity room, hands on her wrists, knees on her thighs. Both girls were panting loudly as Bra was struggling to get free from Pan and Pan was struggling to keep her hold on the other. 

Bra suddenly laughed, giving up completely. "If someone walked in on us, they would think we were doing something completely different!" She let her head fall back on the floor as Pan jumped off her, laughing as well. "I can already see the headlines: 'Disgrace to the Briefs family! Bra Briefs caught in the sack with other college girls'," the blue-haired girl continued, giggling. 

"Yeah, and the happy faces of men everywhere on the planet when the pictures are published," Pan grinned. Her hair stuck annoyingly to her forehead and she brushed it away, only to have it fall back into her eyes. She made a face. "I think I need a shower," she muttered. "Even as a Super Saiyan, my hair is clinging to my skin. I thought it was supposed to be standing up?"

"Me too," called Bra from where she was lying on the floor, her eyes closed, arms and legs wide. She too was still Super Saiyan, her thick golden spikes covering the ground around her. Pan nudged her friend in the side with her foot, earning an indignant "Hey!" 

"Who's getting which shower?" Pan asked, nudging Bra again. Her best friend scowled, her eyes still closed, and rolled on her side. "I don't care. I don't think I ever want to get up again."

Pan smirked. "Fine, then I'll just take your shower. No wait, I'll take your bath!" 

Bra was on her feet and in the air in less than a second. "No way I'll let a filthy Son in _my_ bathroom," she called over her shoulder as she hit a button in the wall and blasted out of the gravity room. Pan just laughed at her friend. How could someone be protective of a _room_? 

The moment Bra left the room, the gravity returned to normal. Pan sighed, looking around the hollow, round space, and let her power drop until it was back to normal. She squinted her eyes to look at her hair turning from golden blond to its normal black color. The sight still pleased her immensely. She was a Super Saiyan. Noone had been sure if she could manage it, only being a quarter saiyan, but she had, and before Bra did, too. The blue-haired demi-saiyan had only started training when she was twelve or thirteen, when her saiyan instincts had finally kicked in. Pan reckoned that Bra had been more like Gohan was when he was a kid, Not used to, not even interested in fighting. Gohan's powers had been brought out by extreme circumstances and might not have showed themselves ever, had he had a normal life. After Cell, however, Gohan continued training, now loving it. Pan reckoned that she herself was more like Goten, fighting for the fun of it. She could not even remember how she had learned to fly, that's how young she had been. 

The gravity room had a shower, ever since Bulma had declared that she did not want stinking Saiyans in her bathroom and Vegeta had stated that she'd better make one in the gravity room then. Bulma, being the plutocrat she was, had one installed that same day. It was nothing fancy – just a shower cubicle and a sink, nothing like the big tub that Bra was now undoubtedly lying in. Pan however had never been one to spend ages soaking in hot water with a disgustingly artificial flower scent, so the simple shower fit her just fine. She was satisfied as long as it got her clean, and the shower had never failed in doing so.

She jumped out of her clothes and into the tiled cubicle in one fluid motion, turning on the shower. The scoldingly hot water soothed and relaxed her aching muscles and she sighed contently. Nothing felt better after a good spar than a hot shower.

She had successfully avoided thinking of Trunks during the spar, but now her thoughts returned to the half saiyan. Would he really like Marron? The man had never made a secret of the fact that he thought Marron was pretty, something that had unnerved her before. She had thought, hoped, that it was just that, but what if Trunks did like Marron more than just a friend? Normally, Pan was one of the first to know about his newest love interests (a fact that had bothered her greatly, although she had obviously never told him), and he had never told her that he seriously liked the blonde. 

And Marron? Her friend, like Trunks, thought the other handsome and often joked about dating him, but she did that about Goten, too. Pan knew of the tension between the blonde and her uncle, but up until now, neither of them had noticed. It would almost be funny if Marron snatched Trunks away from her before the girl would realise she actually had feelings for Goten. 

Almost. The thought of Trunks falling for Marron made her insides clench. If there was one way to make her lose this bet, it was Trunks falling in love with someone else. She _had_ to keep his attention on her, if only to prevent him from noticing another girl. 

She stepped out of the shower, quickly powering up to dry herself, and walked out of the petite bathroom. Her clothes were lying in a pile on the floor. She lifted her shirt with her foot and scrunched her nose. The clothes smelled. There was no way she was going to put that back on. 

She glanced at the door. Well, maybe her underwear, she could hardly walk into Capsule Corps without any clothes on. She grudgingly put her bra back on and bent over to pick up her panties and step into them. Only then she felt a familiar ki behind her.

She looked over her shoulder with half-lidded eyes, seemingly completely uninterested. Trunks was standing in the doorway, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open. It seemed that he had not expected this peep show any more than she had. 

She completely ignored him, picked up her clothes and walked right at him. His eyes grew wider still, apparently he thought she was coming to him. It had in fact crossed her mind, but she was still too angry with the guy to successfully seduce him. So instead she simply brushed past him, not even acknowledging his presence. She could feel his eyes on her back when she stalked to the big dome that was his home, but she did not look back. He never saw her satisfied smile.

~*^*#$#*^*~

AN: *grins angelically* And, as a note – I am ignoring GT in this, this is a DBZ based fanfiction. Our favorite demi-saiyans have so much potency at the end of DBZ, a potency that GT doesn't let them live up to. They deserve more (at least to have the Saiyan females fight – as if they'd stay home and raise kids). Once again betaed by the lovely Noseless Wonder () :]

  
  
Go to chapter 3 Go to chapter 5 


	5. Should let the man set his own pace

Chapter 5

_Should let the man set his own pace_

Pan sat on the floor of the living room in Capsule Corps, leaning back against the big couch and not paying attention to the TV as she tried not to perspire. 

It was _hot_. It was ridiculously hot for this time of the year. The black leather of the couch stuck to the skin of her upper arms and every now and then she pulled her arms away in irritation, only to lean back into the couch a few moments later. The very air in the tastefully decorated room simmered, despite the Briefs' expensive air conditioning system. An unexpected heat wave, the weather channel called it. Hell, Pan deemed. She had fled inside when she could not stand the assault of the sun anymore, but this did not prove to be much better. 

Because of the heat wave, Bra had suggested Marron held her birthday at Capsule Corps. Marron had quickly agreed; this was the best place to stay with this weather, with its private pool and its huge, shady garden. They had come together to hang out, swim, eat and generally have fun until the night, when the real partying would begin. 

Faint shouts and laughter penetrated the thick, dark windows from outside. Pan rolled her eyes – Bra and Marron were at it again. The girls had apparently decided to constantly remind their male friends that they were women, and attractive ones at that. They had been doing nothing but swimming, sunning and running around in ridiculously small outfits the whole day. 

Pan shook her head and scoffed. That was _her_ job, right? _She_ was supposed to walk around looking sexy and shooting Trunks meaningful glances. She had meant to, had actually done so. She had made Trunks look embarrassed, awed and aggravated all at once, just by slowly climbing out of the pool. She had seen a look of pure lust on his face when she had cornered him in the hallway. She had teased him mercilessly, constantly reminding him that she was an attractive woman who wanted him. Badly. Now, however, it was simply too hot. She could not even imagine ever wanting to touch somebody again - accidentally touching her own body was enough to make her shiver with revulsion. What she really wanted to do was stand in an icecold shower and never step out of it again. That, or try to squeeze herself into the big Capsule Corps. refrigerator. She ought to just get back into the private swimming pool, but the water was not nearly cold enough for her liking and she just did not feel like enduring the girls' water games. There was only so much groping and glomping one could stand on a hot day and Pan had passed that limit by far.

A shiver went up and down her spine, despite the heat. It was Trunks' fault that she had passed that limit, ofcourse. There was something very enticing about touching in water, heat wave or not; The slippery feel of skin on skin, the ability to slide in and out of someone's arms so easily, the cool liquid around her hot body… She hadn't even needed to corner him in the swimming pool, he had come to her. She did not know if he had simply not thought about their bet or that he had intended a confrontation, but the moment he had pushed her under water, all in good fun, she had dragged him with her and pulled him up against herself. They had stared at each other through the clear water, their Saiyan eyes not bothered by something as mundane as chloride. Hitting the bottom with their feet they had simultaneously pushed up, bursting through the water surface still holding on to each other. She had been unable to look away from his deep blue eyes, marvelling at the look of pure desire in them. Had _she_ awoken that in him? His face had come dangerously close to hers, his breath on her lips; but just as she leaned into him, he had pulled away, slicing through the water faster than humanly possible. She had guiltily glanced around to find their friends looking at them oddly – 

"Pan?" 

She opened her eyes to see a big white grin hover over her face. "Cheshire cat," she squeaked very girlishly and swatted at the face, but it moved out of her reach. She squinted her eyes against the still bright rays of the setting sun and finally made out light blue eyes and beach blond hair. Rolling her eyes, she waved for someone, anyone, to close the garden door. Marron breathed out and kicked the door close without looking. 

"What are you doing here?" the blonde demanded, wiping her wet hair out of her eyes.

"Dying," Pan moaned dramatically. 

Marron laughed and dropped down on the couch. "Well, get ready to die some more. We're off to the Viking in twenty minutes."

Pan stared at her with wide eyes. "You have got to be kidding me, it hasn't cooled down one bit!"

"Which is why we're not waiting any longer," Marron said, grinning at her friend. 

Pan just looked at her and sighed deeply. "Do I really have to come along?" 

Marron rolled her eyes. "_Yes._ I can't believe you even ask me that. Which part of 'I'm birthday girl, you have to be nice to me' don't you understand?"

"The part where being nice to you means unnecessary torture leading to a certain death," Pan said, but grinned at the other girl. "Twenty minutes, you said? I'll go.. brush my hair then." She made a face.

"You go do that, you look like a ceiling mop."

Pan glared at the blonde. "I prefer the term 'Saiyan'." 

"Saiyan, ceiling mop, that's six of one and half a dozen of the other," Marron called airily as she stood up, ignoring Pan's dark look. "I'm going to change."

Pan frowned, confused. "What's wrong with what you're wearing now?"

"Oh please," Marron huffed, "as if I'd go clubbing in a T-shirt." 

Pan shook her head, smiling to herself as Marron bounced out of the room. She liked her friends, definitely, but there were things about them she would just never understand. 

*^*^*^*^*

The night club called to them from far away, with its flashing neon signs and big floodlights that swirled across the night sky. The club looked like it belonged in Vegas instead of Satan City, but Goten had assured that was part of its charm. He was the only one of them who had been here before and had convinced Marron to celebrate her birthday here. Pan did not know what was so special about this particular club, but she had never been much of a disco person and could not care less about what was hot and what wasn't. Apparently this night club was new, enormous and _the_ place to be for the rich and famous, which was exactly why Bra and Marron wanted to go. 

Huge bodyguards were standing next to the open doors, through which they could already faintly hear music. The men looked strong and dangerous, but Pan knew she could kill them with one snap of her fingers. She did not always like being a Saiyan, but she loved that it never failed to make her feel safe from anything a human would want to do to her. She was, next to Bra, probably the only girl alive who had never been warned to be careful in the dark and not go to places of dubious security. 

She glanced at the huge signs and frowned. "You didn't tell me that this club was called 'the _Naked_ Viking'," she said to Goten, who grinned sheepishly and shrugged his broad shoulders. 

"The owner is said to be not quite sane," Bra said in conspiracy, leaning towards Pan and winking. "This mistress Icegaze, or however she calls herself…"

"It doesn't matter anyway," Marron piped in, "her club is a wild success, despite its odd name."

People under twenty-one were not allowed in this club, but either they all looked legal, or Trunks' fame and influence did their work even in the newest night club in town. Pan betted on the last, seeing that not even Bra and she looked their age, let alone Goten and Trunks. The older they got, the more their looks differed with their true age. _Saiyans are doomed to be asked for their ID all their lives_, she grinned to herself, _unless they happen to be with the almighty president of Capsule Corps_. Surely, after one look at Trunks' lavender hair, the doormen ushered them in without questions. 

Marron was practically bouncing off the ceiling, Pan noted and grinned. When she was twenty-five the blonde had declared that she was now too old to go clubbing, with her birthday as the only exception. It had resulted in numerous violations of that rule and her being hyper every time she set foot in a club: Marron was and would always be a party girl. 

Her mouth fell open when they stepped through the huge doors and into the first hall. The club was indeed _gigantic_. At the far end of the room there was a stage on which a DJ (famous, no doubt, although she had no clue to who was hot and happening in the clubbing world) was playing records. In front of the stage was an enormous dance floor stuffed with people dancing and jumping to the beat and surrounding the dance floor were galleries on various levels and staircases leading to them. Everywhere in the club were doors leading to other rooms. The sheer volume of the music was overwhelming and she had to force herself not to put her hands over her ears and run out of the club screaming. Night clubs always did take some adjusting to for her. On top of that, she felt some kind of awkward nervousness gnawing at her insides. She could not point out what exactly was bothering her, but she was not completely at ease this night.

She glanced at her friends. Bra, like Marron, was ridiculously happy just to be here. They were talking, their heads close, bright blue contrasting wonderfully with golden blond. She bit back the pang of jealousy she felt at the sight and breathed in deeply. Despite the age difference between Marron and Bra and the fact that Pan and Bra had been friends since childhood, Pan often felt that Marron was a better friend to Bra than she could ever be. There was something that connected the two girls, something that went beyond age, beyond race. Maybe it was something as simple as their interests – after all, Bra and Marron had much more in common than Pan would ever have with either one of them. 

And still, they were her best friends. She had other friends of course, but no one was as close to her as this little group. They had been through so much together, so much tied them to each other – blood, battle, history… 

Someone poked her in her side, none too gently. "Pan? You still awake?" 

Pan glared at the offender, who turned out to be Goten. Her uncle smiled at her so contagiously that before long, she was grinning back at him. "All awake," she smiled, "just off in Lala Land." 

"You're insane, Pan, why would you go to Lalaland when you're in disco heaven?" Bra asked rhetorically, shaking her head. 

Pan could not answer her because Marron grabbed her arm and dragged her away to the bar. "You," she called, looking intently at her friend, "need alcohol. Lots of it." 

"I do?" Pan asked dryly, keeping her face blank. 

Marron nodded. She pushed Pan on a stool, leaned on the bar and winked at the bar tender, a young and undoubtly cute man. Pan could not hear what the two yelled in each other's ears, but before long the bartender put two drinks in front of them, seemingly without Marron paying for it. 

"You sly dog, you," Pan laughed at the blonde. Marron just smirked, took her glass and downed it at a draught. Pan carefully took a sip. "What _is_ this?" she asked. The other girl shrugged her slim shoulders and grinned. Pan shook her head and drank the rest of her drink at one swallow as well. There was no reason to not wash away the building nervousness in her system with a good lot of booze, was there? 

*^*^*^*^*

A good lot of drinks later Pan found herself on the dance floor, dancing like crazy. "I'm not like this," she muttered in a moment of self reflection, and stopped dead as the song changed from an upbeat Latin mix to a slow love song. 

"Yes you are," said a voice in her ear. She glanced over shoulder and saw Trunks standing there, smirking. "You can be a lot of things, Pan, as you have proven this past week."

_Yeah,_ Pan thought, _enticing, attractive, tempting…_ "Drunk?" she suggested from under lowered eyelids, trying to keep the growing nervousness under control.

"Not nearly, Pan." He smiled languidly and the danger of him made her knees wobbly. What was it about him that made her _so_ weak?

"You can't tell me you do not love dancing," he continued. "It's too much like fighting." 

She just looked at him, trying not to clench her fists in frustration. He suddenly pulled her up against his body. "You must at least like dancing like this," he smirked at her.

He was too close and at the same time not close enough by far. Her nails dug into the flesh of her hands and she pushed against his chest with her fists. "Trunks, you're drunk."  

He cocked his head, smiling oddly at her. "Not nearly, Pan."

"Then what has gotten into you?" she demanded, agitated.

"What has gotten into _you_?" he retaliated, leaning in closer, his lips almost on her ear. "I thought you wanted this, but you are pushing me away." His warm cheek against hers and his breath on her earlobe made her nearly dizzy. She unclenched her fists, instead clawing her hands in his shirt, his shoulders to keep upright. 

"Since when do you let somebody win?" she whispered.

He lifted his head, looking into her eyes. "Since when do you let opportunities like this slip?" he countered, wiping some dark hair behind her ear. She shivered at the simple gesture and inwardly slapped herself. _You're acting like a bitch in heat,_ _Panny-girl_, she scolded. 

"Since there has to be a catch," she answered and shook her head, looking away from his intense gaze. She flattened her hands on his shoulders and again tried to push him away, but he would not let go. 

Instead he sighed and his face became unreadable, as if he had shut a door behind his eyes. "I'm sorry, Pan," he said, softly. "Let's just forget this, okay? Let's dance."

She silently concurred, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head against his shoulder. She did not know what on earth he was thinking, what had gotten into him to provoke her like this, and she did not trust him – not in these matters. However, she could not help but feeling absolutely safe in his arms. How could he invoke such contradicting emotions in her? She had known him all her life, had been attracted to him since puberty; but only these past few days he seemed to be turning her world upside down. 

They danced until the song switched to a fast dance hit. Then they just stood, caught in the moment. She stared up to his face, caressing his sharp features with her gaze. Her eyes settled on his and she found herself unable to look away – there was something in his eyes that she could not understand, something else than lust, amusement, disdain; something that she did not know, not like this. 

She tore her gaze away from his, pushed him away and fled to the ladies' room. 

*^*^*^*^*

Pan leaned heavily on the marble sink and pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror. Some women were giving her strange looks, but she ignored them.

What was _wrong_ with her? 

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. No, she was not the problem. What was wrong with _Trunks_? Why did he practically offer himself to her? He _had_ to be playing at something, but she did not know what. Was the man just trying to get her off balance? This _did_ feel like that little trick that kids use when playing around – two kids pushing against each other, trying to push the other over; and when they had a stalemate one would suddenly give in and step aside as the person still pushing fell over. 

Was that what Trunks was doing? Seemingly giving in, so she would stumble and fall? She scowled at her reflection. That would _not_ work. The guy was somehow tricking her, no doubt. She would just have to be very careful.

Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder and she twirled around to find Bra standing behind her. 

"Pan?" her best friend asked, looking her over carefully. 

Pan glanced at her. "Bra," she said, almost formally, and looked back at her reflection.

Bra stared at her in the mirror. "Are you finally going to tell me about what's happening between you and Trunks?" she asked. Pan could not really define the look on her face – was it tired confusion or indignant resignation? 

"There is nothing to tell," she said silently, still not moving.

Bra narrowed her eyes. "Pan, cut that out. There is _something_, I can see it. I just don't know _what_. You two get all weird when you're around eachother, you act like you're a couple, and I haven't seen either of you act normal after an encounter – you seem either scarily gleeful or frustrated and angry. Just look at you, you only danced with him and you're hiding in here, looking all troubled."

Pan twirled around to look at her, horrified, Bra's other comments not even registering. "We do _not_ act like we're a couple!"

Bra snorted disparagingly. "Yes, you do. You act like my parents."

Pan just stared at her friend, her mouth slightly open. 

The blue-haired girl raised her eyebrows. "What? You are. You fight, then suddenly act all close, shout at eachother again and then…" She looked at the other girl intently. "What _was_ that dancing about, really?"

"Bra," Pan started and shook her head, looking away. "It's nothing. It's a stupid game. We're just messing around."

Her friend sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine, don't tell me. But I have to warn you, Pan."

Pan raised her head in alarm. "Warn?.." she echoed. 

"I know my brother," Bra continued, still looking at the other girl. "He can be too much like my dad sometimes. Playing games with him is dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Pan looked away from those piercing blue eyes and stared at the floor. "Why would I get hurt?" she silently asked. 

"He does not know the power he holds over you," Bra whispered, touching Pan's shoulder. "I think _you_ don't even know."

Pan shook her head again and pulled herself away from Bra's hand, all but running out of the ladies' room. 

What was Bra getting at? Pan's childhood crush on Trunks was common knowledge between them, like Bra's childhood crush on Goten. The girl was, however, implying much more than that. 

Trunks, holding power over _her_? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

She scowled and stalked to the big dancefloor, locating her friends' ki. If Trunks held any power over her, she held just as much power over him. She did not doubt the lust she had read in his eyes, so many times already. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he _was_ attracted to her. Perhaps not as much as she was to him, but her actions of late had at least succesfully captured his attention. 

She spotted him standing next to the dance floor, surrounded by their friends. He was casually leaning against a fence when their eyes met and their gazes locked. Without a word he separated himself from the little group and squeezed himself through the crowd towards her. She smiled lazily and turned around, not even bothering to look over her shoulder and see if he was following her. 

He caught her between the dancefloor and a bar, grabbing her shoulder and softly turning her around. A shiver went down her spine at the feel of his strong fingers and she breathed in, closing her eyes briefly before looking at him. 

"Pan," he said, not quite looking at her. "I just wanted to –" He broke off and looked at her helplessly. 

She grinned, pushing the inner turmoil down and spread her hands, looking at him expectantly. "What?" 

"I," Trunks started. It was incredibly funny to see his facial expression shift from confused to frustrated to angry to – what was that, nervousness? 

She smiled at him affably and wiped her dark hair from her face. Apparently she was not the only one feeling awkward tonight, and that made her feel a whole lot better.

"Just say it, Trunks," she grinned and stepped a little closer to him. She could hear him mumble under his breath. Being a Saiyan had its advantages; superior hearing was definitely one of them. 

"I thought I'd-" he started again and then scowled at her. "Don't laugh at me," he said, indignant. 

Pan grinned and looked at him wide-eyed. "Me, laughing at you? _Never_."

He rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to say,-" he began once again, but stopped and stared at her. She had snuck her way up to him, edging nearer and somehow making it seem only natural, as if it was just the people pushing and pulling around them that forced her closer to him. 

They were standing toe to toe, staring into each other's eyes. She could see him swallow, his eyebrows shooting up before he frowned darkly. He stepped back as well as he could but she followed suit, keeping her body centimetres from his. He slammed into a bar and she could see him wince. Resisting the urge to apologise, she brought her body flush to his. He was still scowling at her, but she could see the wild storm of emotions behind his eyes. His body did not want her to stop, oh no, and perhaps even a part of his mind didn't. But Trunks was proud, like his father, like her, and he would not lose this bet over something as simple as desire. 

Not like she was going to give him a choice. 

She stared into his dark blue eyes, wishing she knew what exactly he was thinking. How much did he want her? How much did he care about the bet? 

How far would he let her go? 

Her heart was galloping through her chest, pounding so loud that she could swear he could hear it. She could feel him against her whole body, burning like fire, his hot breath on her lips. He was staring back at her, his face frighteningly emotionless, and she knew it was a mask. He was an emotional mess, like her, perhaps even more torn up because his feelings were contradicting so much. For a split second she knew what he was thinking - _yes, no, yes, no_ -, despite the mask. She laid a hand in his neck, much gentler than she had thought she would, and pulled his head down. Her lips brushed his and for a moment she was sure he would push her away. Then his hands were on her back, pulling her closer to him, and he kissed her with a passion rivalling hers. The world was reduced to lips and hands and making sure that as much of their bodies was touching as possible.  

She would have liked to think that she was able to keep her head cool in any situation, but she was sorely proven wrong. _Nothing_ mattered but his mouth on hers and the way he pressed her tight against his body. She felt that she would never have been able to let go of him, if it had not been for the clumsy girl that bumped into them and spilled her cold drink all over their bodies. 

They jumped apart, bewildered. She was breathing irregularly and tried to stop her hands from shaking as he stared at her, his eyes wide and his face very pale, save for two red spots on his cheekbones. She could read the sheer confusion on his face and knew it was mirrored on hers. She hated this moment, those few seconds just after a kiss that moved the earth, that time in which she had absolutely no clue what her next move should be. Before she could decide on anything, however, the muscles in his face tensed and then relaxed and his eyes caught on a blank stare, and he turned away from her without saying a word. She stared after him, struck dumb, until she realised just what he had done. Rage boiled up in her and she stormed off, fighting her way through the crowds, pushing and elbowing and ignoring indignant shouts until she had made her way outside and felt the cool night air on her heated skin. Instead of calming her, though, it only seemed to fuel the fire and she blasted off, forgetting all about acting human and not drawing attention to herself, and made herself disappear in the night. 

~*^*#$#*^*~

AN: I got a review saying that Pan and Trunks acted a little different from there normal selves. Well – how could we know? As I said before: this is a DBZ-based fanfiction, so we only know that Trunks is a spoiled and arrogant brat and that Pan is a happy girl who likes to fight. There's nothing more to tell. I never saw much of GT and I didn't like what they did in there, so screw that. Also, I'd like to point out that Trunks _is_ a softy under there, he's just shocked beyond reason by Pan's actions and falls back in his arrogant behaviour because that's the only way he knows to react; and Pan _is _a daring girl, why does everybody assume that she isn't in love business when she is in everything else? 

Also, that kiss was impossible to write. I'm sorry that you had to wait so long on this chapter, but I've worked weeks and weeks just on that kiss scene. That and the fact that I just started out in a new school caused the delay. Sorry! You can beat me with anything that doesn't do too much damage!

And, and, and, our infamous mistress Icegaze does have that club, I stole it from her. Shame on me!

Once again betaed by the Noseless Wonder (?userid=8376). Check out her fics, they're amazing!

…Geesh, long AN. Well, it's a long chapter too, so thh *grin*


	6. But a woman in love, she's above the law

Chapter 6

B_ut a woman in love, she's above the law_

Capsule Corps. Pan stared at the huge dome and sighed deeply. Never before had the building seemed _so_ uninviting to her. She had not seen her friends since her erratic flight the night before and she did not know if they would all be there or if they had gone home. Either way, she would most likely walk into Bra before she had a chance to reach Trunks and talk to him. 

She did not want to talk to her friends. There was no way she could get out of explaining her actions of last night and she really did not want to. There was no way she would mention the bet, as it was one of the most ridiculous (albeit one of the most exciting) things she had ever done, and she would never be able to live through their reactions on it. The only other plausible explanation would be alcohol, although everybody knew that it took quite a lot of alcohol to inebriate a Saiyan and she was fairly sure they knew she had not had _that_ much. 

She scowled. Well, she was not the only one responsible for explaining last night! Trunks had been just as much part of this as she. Although she _had_ been the one to initiate the kiss and he, she fumed silently, had left without saying a word to her. 

That had hurt her more than she would have liked to admit. She had never been clingy, had never wanted to stick around lovers after she had gotten what she wanted, but one just did _not_ walk away after a kiss like _that_. She was still furious with him and furious with herself for wanting to see him, despite her anger. She had felt so _stupid_ when he had walked away, so completely and utterly humiliated. 

But really, what had she expected that would happen? That he would sweep her off her feet, carry her home and make sweet love to her all night? _Forget about it, girl,_ she scolded herself. _Trunks will _not_ lose this bet._ And the ache she felt in her stomach at that made her even more furious. 

She clenched her fists and then sighed, shaking her head. She was not sure if their friends had seen everything that had happened, but they would all know the basic plot: She had kissed Trunks, Trunks had walked away and she had stormed off. They _were_ going to demand an explanation. 

Taking a deep breath she stepped through the kitchen door, determined to find Trunks before anyone would notice her. Suppressing her own powerlevel as much as possible, she felt around with her ki sense. Marron and Goten were not here, at least, but the other ones were suppressing their ki and she could not point out where they were. She growled silently and headed for Trunks' room, hoping to find him there. 

Instead, when she stepped into the hallway, she walked into Bra. She stopped dead in her tracks and opened her mouth to say something, anything, but  -

"He's not here, Pan," Bra said, looking at her sternly. 

"I'm not-" Pan started.

"You are, but he's not here," the other girl repeated. "He's on a business trip. He won't be back for another week." 

Pan kept silent.

"Didn't he tell you? It was planned weeks ago."

Pan just stared at her, her mouth still open. Only when Bra seemed to want to say something else, she shook off her apathy and clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her skin. "I can't _believe_ that fucking bastard!" she shrieked, turned around and blasted out of the house. 

*^*^*^*^*

She had flown quite some time when she realised she had been doing a lot of running away lately. _Great, Trunks, not only do you make me an emotional wreck, but you are also turning me into a chicken,_ she thought foully, and the mental image that followed that thought was so ridiculous that she dissolved into helpless laughter in midair and almost dropped out of the sky. 

Laughing had actually done her some good. She could think more clearly now. Think about how much of a bastard Trunks actually was, that is. He had _known_ he would be gone for a week when they had made the bet! He had specifically chosen this deadline because he most likely would not be back by then! She could not believe how… _low_ that was, how unfair and simply mean. He was not even giving her a chance to win this bet. 

She smiled sadly when she realised he had never intended to give her a chance. If she had wanted to know how he felt about her, this was as clear enough a clue. The man had never wanted her in the first place and would do anything to keep her away from him. 

Then she shook her head firmly. No, she was not about to start lying to herself. She had seen the lust in his eyes when he looked at her. She had felt him react to her. He had let her kiss him. He had even kissed her back. He _was_ attracted to her. 

She sighed deeply. But that did not mean he wanted her. 

Only now she remembered Vegeta's remarks of the other week. Then, she had been too angry to actually understand what he had said. Now it suddenly hit her.

_"There is a very thin line between love and hate."_

She rolled her eyes at that. Love, _hah_. Just by saying that he had proved himself wrong. Who had said anything about love? Love was not even in the picture. _Lust_ was what it was all about. Apparently he had noticed that, at least, she noted with a grimace. Oh, the Saiyan sense of smell, a source of never ending joy in her life. She was glad she had not run into any of the other Saiyans after an encounter with Trunks, or they would have known as well. She was humiliated enough as it were. 

She snorted. Vegeta had not even talked about lust. He had said she was in heat. As if she were a dog. Bah, the guy really thought Saiyans were animals. _In heat_. As if there was a specific period in which she lusted after Trunks. If the man had paid any attention, he would have noticed that she had always wanted him. 

But what now? 

She dropped down on a hill top in the middle of nowhere and sat down with her head in her hands, staring into the sky but seeing nothing. 

What now? She did not have a clue. She could go after Trunks, surely. He was suppressing his ki _now_, but he would not remember to do it all week. Sooner or later he would give away his location without thinking. She could be standing in his hotel room in less than half an hour, if she wanted to. 

But she would not run after him. She still had her pride. She had thrown herself at him, true. She had offered herself to him, made it very clear that he could have her if he chose to. But that was the bet. She would not go as low as chasing after him like a pathetic, lovesick puppy. 

She growled, mentally chastising herself for even considering it. What was wrong with her? There had been a time when such a thought would never have crossed her mind, not even for Trunks. There had been a time when she would not have thrown herself at him, bet or no bet. 

Her thoughts flew back to Vegeta's comment. In heat. Just what had he meant by that? She had thought he had meant lust, that he was just talking to her degradingly because it pleased him to anger her. But what if Saiyans did have a period in which they were driven by lust, desperately looking for somebody to mate with? She blushed furiously, remembering a conversation between Bulma and her mother that she had accidentally overheard. She had tried really hard to forget it at the time, certain that she did not want to know anything about her parents' sexlife, but... They _had_ talked about how Vegeta and her dad were a bit more... persistent, at times... 

She shook her head wildly. "Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross," she chanted, trying to get off the topic of parental sex. "I do not want to think about that, I do _not_ want to think... ah damnit!"

She stood up and jumped into the air. She had to ask Vegeta about what he meant. She was not particularly looking forward to a conversation with the Saiyan prince, especially not about this topic, but she had to know if there were things in this matter that she had not considered yet. Everything would be different if her instincts were looking for a mate, instead of just sating the lust she had felt for years.

*^*^*^*^*

It did not take long to find Vegeta. Luckily the man was not out on one of his training trips, nor inside Capsule Corps., where she would most likely have walked into Bra. He was training in the gravity room, as usual.

She pushed a button next to the door of the room and waited for the familiar beep that would tell her the gravity had returned to normal. When she heard it, she pushed another button to open the door and stepped inside. 

Vegeta was standing in the middle of the room, his arms folded, glaring at her. He had apparently been training for quite some time, according to the sweating and panting.

"What do you want?" he demanded, his voice gruff. 

"You to explain some things to me," Pan said, trying not to sound nervous. She never knew just how to treat the man, but she did know she should not let him know he made her jumpy. She had the odd feeling that he was like a dog in this – if she showed him she was afraid, he would bite.

The Saiyan Prince stared at her and she tried not to cower. Would he even want to tell her? Could she make him?

"What?" he eventually said, not sounding very interested. 

"What did you mean the other day, what- what you said," she stammered. "In heat?"

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk so aggravating that she forgot to be nervous. "Just that," he deadpanned. "You're in heat. Don't tell me you didn't notice."

She glared at him. "I want to know what you _mean_ by that," she said, annoyed. 

Did he just roll his eyes? She narrowed her eyes at the Saiyan prince and impatiently waited for him to answer. 

Apparently he found this amusing. He was the only one.

"You're in heat," he repeated, still smirking. "Looking for someone to mate. And by the way you're acting towards Trunks, I'd say you've found someone."

She blushed furiously and stared daggers at him. "Even if I was interested in Trunks like that, why would you say I'm in - in heat?! I'm not a damn dog!"

His eyes narrowed, smirk disappearing. "You're a Saiyan."

She looked at the ground, defeated, as he turned to the shower. When he opened the door, she looked up. "Vegeta," she called.

Then man stopped and looked over his shoulder, not quite glaring. 

"Would I want to _mate_ with Trunks, instead of just..." she blushed again.

He turned around fully, narrowing his eyes again. "You're a Saiyan. When we mate, we mate for life."

She snorted. "Hardly. We all slept with people before, Vegeta, and none of us have a mate yet."

"_Mate_, I said," he huffed, "not have sex. With your human blood, there's a difference between the two."

She glared at him. "You're not making any sense!"

"You have a problem with listening," he spat, turning around again. "Then again, females in heat are not renowned for paying attention to anyone but their desired mate."

"Why are you even saying I'm in heat?!" she demanded furiously. 

He did not turn to look at her, but she could hear the smirk in his voice. "I'm a Saiyan. I can smell it."

God, no! Pan stared at him. "You – you mean my dad can..." she asked, embarrassed beyond reason. 

Vegeta only chuckled. "Your father is more human than Saiyan. I don't expect him to pick up anything." 

She breathed out, relieved, then snapped her head back up at him. "Trunks? Goten? Bra?"

"Goten's like your father," the man answered. "Trunks most likely doesn't have a clue what he's responding to. Bra, now..." his voice trailed off. "She might know. She's smart enough to figure it out, even if she doesn't know the scent. Besides, she's a Saiyan female, too."

Pan groaned, hiding her face behind her hands. "This is just getting worse and worse."

"Oh yes, it is," he said, suddenly glaring at her again. "I don't know what you were thinking when you chose Trunks, but you can't claim him. You're not worthy of him. He's a prince, a first-class Saiyan. You're third-class offspring."

She stared at him, eyes wide. He did not mean that, did he? 

His eyes were black, not hardly amused. Oh yes, he meant it all right. 

Anger hit her with a sudden burst, a golden aura whipping up around her, hair flaring up in a surge of power. Who did the man think he was? Prince? Prince her ass! Prince of a dead race! She was a Super Saiyan, more than worthy of anyone she chose! Every man should be _happy_ to be picked by her! 

For a moment she could do nothing but breathe in and out deeply, so furious had he made her. Then she jumped at him, fist aiming for his face. "I am the best there is!" she shouted when the full-blood Saiyan twisted out of her reach, smirking, also turning Super Saiyan. "I am the _only_ Saiyan female available for him! He hasn't got a choice!"

The fight did not last long. Although Pan's anger gave her extra strength, she was no match for Vegeta. With one final blow he slammed her down, face-first into the floor. Without even looking at her he went into the shower.

Pan lay on the floor, groaning. This day just kept getting better and better. What was she thinking, jumping Vegeta like that? She knew he was merciless and that anything that involved him, her and beating would make her end up with a _lot_ of pain. But he had just made her _so_ angry. 

She sighed and pushed herself up to sit, trying to check the damage. Battered and bruised, definitely, but she did not seem to have broken anything. She warily touched her under arms. Ouch. Those would be sore for a day or two. That would teach her to attack Vegeta like that. Still, she could not help but think he had almost seemed pleased with her. She shook her head. She would never understand that man.

Biting back a moan, she stood up and exited the gravity room, walking carefully. 

Well, _that_ had hardly helped.

~*^*#$#*^*~

AN: Short, yeah. Very annoying chapter, too. *mutters under her breath* 

I was sorely tempted to kill off Bra. Actually, I had already decided to do so (it would give me _such_ nice plottwists! I had it all thought out), Icegaze even threw a coin to decide… 

and then I didn't. Why not? Because it would mess up the summary. "A lust-crazed Saiyan woman, a Saiyan man who tries to save their friendship and a twisted bet. Can Pan seduce Trunks before the moon is full – and does he even want her to fail? And then someone dies." simply doesn't sound as catchy *grin*

So I saved you all from something that would be very sad (although I might still write it, just not in this story). Be glad!

Once again thanks to the Noseless Wonder for betaing this for me! Go read her stuff *nods at her favorites list*


	7. You top my list of things to do

Chapter 7

_You top my list of things to do_

Somebody was knocking on the window.

Pan was lying on her stomach on her bed, her face buried in the pillow. "It's open," she called listlessly, not even bothering to look up. She knew who it was and although she really did not want to talk, she knew it was too late to run. Silently she cursed Vegeta for teaching his daughter how to hide her ki so well. 

Bra jumped through the window and onto her bed in one fluent motion. "I'm fed up with this," she declared icily. "For weeks I've been waiting for you to tell me what the hell was going on with you and Trunks, but you haven't. Every time I asked you, you refused to answer or flat out lied to me. I've _had_ it." 

Pan grimaced into the pillow but did not look up. Great, now her best friend was mad at her and she could not even deny that it was her own fault. The problem was that she was just not ready to talk about Trunks and the bet, not even with her best friend. She simply did not want to think about it any more than she already did. At the moment she was actually sorry that it was summer - she did not even have college to distract her. 

"And because you won't tell me," Bra continued, "I will tell you what I think is going on." She paused for dramatic effect and was likely hoping that the other girl would look at her. Pan refused to move.

"I think you and Trunks are having an affaire behind everybody's backs," Bra stated, now sounding satisfied rather than angry. 

Pan sat up in a flash, staring at her friend incredulously. To her embarrassment, she felt her cheeks heat up. "We are _not_ having an affaire," she almost shouted. "We're _not._"

Bra looked at her, her eyes fixed on her friend. Pan could not help but notice the similarity in her and Trunks' eyes, although Bra's were a lighter shade of blue than his. 

"I don't even know if you are telling the truth," the blue-haired girl said at last, frowning a little. "I don't know if my best friend is telling the truth," she repeated, so silent that Pan would have missed it if it weren't for her Saiyan hearing.

"We're _not_ having an affaire," Pan repeated, knowing that the blush on her face was not helping her in any way. "I've told you before that we're just messing around. It's a..." She swallowed, looking away from her friend's face. "...it's a game." 

"Pan, _please_." The tone of Bra's voice was enough to make her look up again. "I saw you kiss him. This is not just a game."

Pan blushed again, darker now, but shook her head at Bra's challenging gaze. "You're wrong, Bra. This is _exactly_ that. A _game_," she said bitterly, and before Bra could reply: "Please, spare me your lecture."

The other girl pressed her lips together. "Fine," she replied in a clipped voice, "but I don't think you know what you are doing."

Pan sighed. "You're right, I don't."

For a while the girls sat on the bed quietly, Bra still pressing her lips together. Pan knew the girl was trying her best to keep her promise to not lecture her and she appreciated it, but she really did not know what to say to her now. She was definitely not going to tell her anything about  the bet, that was sure. She also didn't really want to bring up anything about Saiyans, being in heat or mating, because there was no way that Bra would miss the link to Trunks and her 'game'. Discussing whether or not she was unconsciously trying to claim Trunks as her mate was not something she was willing to do with his little sister, no matter how much she wanted to know if she was driven by inhuman instincts or not. Bra, however, would not really want to talk about anything else.

"Why did you kiss him, Pan?" the blue-haired girl finally asked. 

Pan shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she answered helplessly. "It seemed like the right... no, not like the _right_ thing..." her voice trailed off and she paused before continuing. "It seemed like the _only_ thing I could do." That was true, she realised. Of course, she had kissed him because she needed to seduce him, because if he kissed back she would be one step closer to winning the bet. There had however been something inescapable in the event, as if it was impossible to step away from him once their skin had touched. She had known she should have stayed away from him in the club if she wanted their friends to remain oblivious of what was going on, she had known that in the end, kissing him would only make her feel bad. None of that had mattered, though, once their lips had touched. Nothing had mattered but them. 

"I am leaving," Bra declared. She did not sound hostile, merely resigned. Pan looked up, black eyes meeting blue. 

"I don't think there is any other way to keep from lecturing you," her friend elaborated, smiling a bit. She stood up, wiping bright blue hair out of her face, and walked over to the window.

"Bra," Pan called and paused when the other girl turned to look at her.

"Thank you," she said softly. 

Bra nodded and sent her a small smile. "You're welcome. You know that I think whatever it is you're doing isn't wise, but I'll keep out of this as much as I can. And you know you can always talk to me. Always."

Pan nodded gratefully. "I know. I just don't want to talk about this now."

She could not read her friend's expression as the girl jumped out of the window and she was not sure if she wanted to. With a sigh she let herself drop down on her bed and stared into her pillow. 

*^*^*^*^*

Five days passed, and she was going mad. 

It wasn't that she missed him. She was not even thinking about him constantly – at least not consciously. However, somewhere in the back of her mind she felt a constant _pull_, as if there was a thin, intangible thread between them that was so tight that with everything he did he tugged on it, attracting her attention. It was not as if they shared a telepathic connection – she did not know what he was thinking or what he was doing. She was just aware of him, or more precisely, she was aware of the gentle pressure of his power on her ki-sense. She compared it to being unable to keep her eyes off of him when he was in the same room as her; that way that her gaze would almost unconsciously follow his every move. 

She did _not_ want him running around in her brain constantly. She did not even want to know what that meant. She knew she was mightily pissed off with a certain royal, purple-haired bastard and that he was going to have a very hard time making up for his actions when he was back. At the moment, she was not even sure if she wanted to win this bet.

She frowned, shocked at that thought. Was she? Despite her anger and embarrassment, she still wanted to win. She still wanted _him_– 

No! She shook her head wildly. She was furious with him. He did not deserve her attention. She was _not_ going to run after him, not anymore. Not even when that gut-wrenching feeling told her that if she was just close to him, everything would be better. 

In her attempts to distract herself she had locked herself in her room for two days, so that she wouldn't run into anyone who would make her think about him. It had not worked, though, so the next three days she had bugged her father and Bra to spar with her. The sparring had helped her work out a lot of frustration, but it hadn't been enough to keep her mind off of the issues at hand. Especially not when Bra continuously sent her disapproving looks and Gohan kept informing why she was so distracted. When he, on the fifth day, noted that oddly enough she was giving off a different scent than usual, she freaked out and, shouting that she was going over to Capsule Corps., fled away from her father's sharp senses. 

She had been flying all day, basking herself in the hot summer sun, unavailingly trying to keep her growing frustration under control. She did _not_ like not being in control of her own life, and at the moment, it felt like that. 

She nodded to herself. Yes, it felt like _she_ was not what her life was about, but Trunks was. The bet was. Add that to the fact that she was still furious with him and upset that he had hurt her like this, and it made for a very unhappy Panny.   

He was _still_ suppressing his ki – only that cheered her up a bit. Apparently the only way for him to win this bet was making sure he would not see her until they had reached the deadline. It was actually rather complimentary, in a very painful way. It was also working, because tonight would be full moon. 

Tonight, she would lose.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that it was past dinner time already. She started flying home when she remembered telling her father that she was going to go to Capsule Corps. Great. Her father, who acted Saiyan only when it came to food, would only have told her mother when dinner was ready, and would consequently have eaten Pan's portion as well. And since tomorrow was grocery day, this meant that there was no food left in the house. 

She would _have_ to go to Capsule Corps. to be able to get a free Saiyan-sized meal.  

Peeved, she changed directions and headed over to the immense building complex. She had been avoiding the Briefs' home the last few days because she did not want to run into Vegeta. Although she wanted to know what exactly he knew about mating, the man unsettled her almost as much as his precious son did, and with his continuously degrading comments, she felt that she would one day end up killing him in a fit of rage – or, more likely, die trying. Vegeta had so far only succeeded in confusing her more, and if she wanted any information on this subject, she would have to find another source. 

Grimacing to herself, she suppressed her power level so that Vegeta could not seek her out and embarrass her in front of the rest of the family. Courtesy had never been one of his strengths and his sense of humor was more sadistic than anything else. It would probably amuse him to take advantage of the situation in that way. 

She landed in front of the kitchen and hopped inside through the open door. Bra was sitting at the table and Bulma was rustling through the cupboards. Judging from the smell, she was trying to cook. Vegeta was nowhere to be seen or felt, suppressing his ki like she was.

"Hey, Pan," Bra called over the noises her mother was making, not at all surprised that her friend was walking in at this hour. 

Pan smiled at her. "Anyone here willing to feed me?"

Bulma, who had turned around when her daughter had spoken up, grinned at her. "Of course, dear. There'll be plenty of food." She started putting plates on the table and gestured for Pan to sit down. 

Pan did so and glanced over at Bra. The blue-haired girl made a face at her, obviously not expecting much from the meal. Pan laughed, but took a bite anyway. She had to fill her stomach with _something_, didn't she? 

It didn't take long before they had finished dinner. Surprisingly enough it had not been all that bad, which Pan suspected might be the result of the many kitchen robots that Bulma owned. At least her stomach was silenced now, she thought contently as she patted it. Bra had run to her rooms to get ready for a date later that night, leaving her and the older woman to clean up the table.

"Pan, dear?" 

She looked up at Bulma, who was getting ready to leave the room. 

"Would you be so kind as to get me the laser box from Trunks' rooms? You know what I mean, the tiny black box that goes with the big one I have here." She held up a black, seemingly plastic box about the size of a computer. "He dragged it there when he was working on something or other and hasn't returned it."

Pan opened her mouth to answer, but Bulma already nodded thankfully. "Great. I'll be in the labs, you'll know where to find me." With that she exited.

Pan stared after her. "Great," she muttered. She knew that when Trunks started working on an invention, he made such a mess that even he himself could not find anything back. She would probably be digging around for hours, which was why Bulma had set her up with this task instead of doing it herself.

With a sigh she pulled herself up and made for the demi-Saiyan's rooms. She did owe Bulma something for the free meal.

*^*^*^*^*

Muttering to herself, she rummaged about in the room that she called Trunks' lab. It wasn't a laboratory, but whenever he worked on something by himself, he did it here. Unfortunately, that meant that the room was stuffed with material, tools and a _lot_ of trash. Finding the laser box took longer than she had expected, partially because she did not really remember what it actually looked like. 

A door behind her opened and closed. 

"_Pan_?!" 

She rolled her eyes, purposefully ignoring the way her heartbeat sped up at the sound of his voice, and slowly turned around. 

He took her breath away. She had not in the least been prepared for seeing Trunks and she felt that, if possible, he had gotten even more attractive in the past five days. He was wearing black jeans and a tank top that showed off his powerful frame all too well. The electric light shimmered over his tan skin and pale lavender hair, highlighting the sharp lines of his face. His eyes were wide, his gaze roaming her body as her gaze was his. 

She snapped out of her stupor, remembering how to breathe, and self-consciously fingered the T-shirt she was wearing. It was a stretch shirt, sure, but nothing as form-fitting as the one she had worn when clubbing, and the shorts she wore were old and ragged. He had seen her like this a thousand times before. Why was he looking at her like that now?

He finally seemed to have caught himself. She could see the mask slip over his face, his jaw relaxing, his eyes turning cool and arrogant. "Pan," he repeated, much more collected. 

She ripped her gaze away from him and looked out of the window. The twilight began to gather, but the moon had not risen yet. 

There was still time.

She looked back at him, her gaze searching his face. "Bra hadn't mentioned you were back," she said, keeping her voice emotionless. 

"Strange," he replied, his voice just as cool as hers. "I wonder why she'd do that." 

She wanted to be mad at him; to shout at him, hit him, refuse to speak to him until he got down on his knees and begged her for forgiveness. He did not deserve anything less. Somehow, though, being close him made any feeling other than desire disappear to the background. How could she think about anything other than how much she wanted him when he smelled _so_ good? 

She stepped closer to him and grinned when he, almost unconsciously, stepped back. So he was still afraid of her. Good. 

"How was your business trip?" she asked, her voice sugary sweet. She kept her gaze fixed on his face, trying to see through his mask, but he had too much of his father's blood to let it slip now. 

He did not even have the courtesy to look embarrassed. "It was okay, though a bit shorter than planned," he answered her, smiling so coldly that it should have chilled her. For some reason though, his cold, collective demeanor was more thrilling than a tender voice and a friendly look could ever be. This was no mere man that she was playing with; this was a prince, a Saiyan, a warrior in every way that counted. 

She stepped forward again, so close now that she could touch him if she wanted to. His body heat teased her bare limbs and his scent washed over her, numbing her brain. She had only one conscious thought in her mind – _no more games_. Playtime was over.

Taking a last step she pushed him against the closed door, molding her body to his. Satisfied she watched as his mask crumbled, his eyes becoming dark with desire, his mouth opening in an inaudible gasp. Wasting no time she pulled his head down and crushed her lips against his.

The original plan was that she simply would not give him any time to think. However, the drawback of this scheme was that her mind completely shut down the moment he touched her back. 

Had she been able to produce coherent thoughts, she would have been surprised that he yielded to her. Trunks Vegeta Briefs did not lose bets if he could help it. His self control was great when necessary, especially when his pride was at stake. 

However, neither of them remembered that as they staggered blindly through the 'lab' to his bedroom, never breaking the incredibly heated kiss. His hands roamed her body as she tugged violently at his tank top. How dare it be in her way? She ripped it clean off his body and dragged her mouth away from his lips to kiss down his neck. He growled and forcefully pulled her T-shirt over her arms and head, for a moment completely breaking skin contact. It did not break the spell however and she grabbed for him, biting down on his neck hard. If she drew blood, neither of them noticed. They had finally reached the bed and he threw her down on it, following suit. 

His aggressive behavior should have frightened or perhaps angered her, but it didn't. Never before had she been so aroused and everything he did only succeeded in turning her on more. 

He was pressing her down on the bed, his body heavy on hers and his hands touching her everywhere and in all the right places. She could not keep herself from moaning at his administrations and tried to keep her mind at the task at hand. His pants were very much in the way and they needed to get off, _now_. She had never been a patient girl and, not caring that she was decimating his wardrobe at an alarming rate, ripped off this offending piece of clothing as well. 

Had he been more sober, he might have been peeved that she ruined a perfect pair of trousers. As it were, he seemed just as relieved to lose the restrictive garment as her. 

Her bra had been shredded long before and now it was him who tugged on her shorts, even now more considerate than she was and not simply ripping it off. Their gazes locked and the look in his eyes took her breath away. His eyes were passionate and wild and never before had she seen him slip off his mask so completely. 

The words just slipped out of her mouth. "_God_, I love you Trunks, I love you so much." It was too hoarse, too silent for him to catch it. He claimed her lips again in a searing kiss, working her shorts over her hips. 

"Oh my _God_!" The last word was shrieked, loud enough to pull even them from their passion-filled clouds. Trunks jerked back and ungracefully tumbled off her, his cheeks flushing and eyes widening in shock and embarrassment.

Bulma was standing in the doorway, looking completely perplexed. She was, however, unfortunately not one of those people that were struck silent in bewilderment. 

"Oh my _God_," she repeated, just as loud. "My _God_! Pan! Trunks! You – Pan, does your _father_ know about this?!" 

Pan scrambled backwards on the bed, utterly horrified. Not even looking at Trunks she pulled up her shorts, made a dive for her T-shirt and exited through the open window, too fast for human eyes to follow. 

Pale moonlight washed over her as she seared through the night. 

She had lost the bet.

~*^*#$#*^*~

AN: *smirks* 

...

*frantically waves arms at readers who walk away from YWBM, thorouhly disappointed* Hey, come back here! This is _not_ over yet! I promise there'll be more (at least a few chapters!). This is one story I'm _not_ going to abandon. 

Despite the fact that I'm very busy with classes, I managed to finish this rather quickly. *shakes fist at readers* damn you for guilt-tripping me into writing instead of doing school assignments! (not that *I* mind... but my teachers for some weird reason do)

Thank you all for the lovely reviews you left me so far. I appreciate your feedback so much :) *hands out Trunks clones to everybody*

  
  
  
Go to chapter 6 Go to chapter 8 


	8. And I will get close to you

Chapter 8

_And I will get close to you_

"Gohan? Is Pan home?"

Pan heard her best friend's voice drift upwards through her wooden bedroom floor and jumped to her feet. Bra was here, damn it, the first of the many people who would seek her out to demand an explanation. Goten had already called three times after the disastrous night of clubbing but she had successfully avoided said calls. He had been too busy in the restaurant to come and drop by, for which she had been shamefully glad. She knew he had this weekend off though and knowing him, there would be no way of avoiding him then. 

She felt like a scared animal and acted like one too. Guiltily she glanced at the window. Could she run away before Bra reached her bedroom door? 

Angrily she shook her head. "What am I doing?!" she muttered to herself. "I don't hesitate to jump into a fight with someone many times stronger than me, but I run away from one of my best friends because she wants to _talk_. Why am I such a chicken when it comes to this?!"

The door slammed open and Bra stood in the doorway, glaring. The air around her was practically crackling with energy. Pan had never seen her powered up like this outside a spar or a fight. Suddenly she was not so sure that talking was the only thing her best friend wanted to do..

"Pan," Bra said, so cold and collected that Pan knew the other girl was seriously pissed off. Shit.

Before she could utter even a greeting, Bra had slammed the door close behind her and walked up to her, shoving her against the wall. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?!" she demanded, her ki still high enough to come across as threatening. Pan shifted nervously. Although the two girls were about the same height, Bra had inherited Vegeta's ability to hold herself as if she could look down on anyone. Normally the girl did not practice this ability on her, but then again, normally Pan did not piss her off this much. 

Bra didn't give her a chance to respond. "I'm _not_ going to let you mess around with my brother like that," she said angrily, planting her hands against the wall on both sides of Pan's head. "You're playing him like a total bitch. You get him worked up, cause a situation and leave him with the mess and you're acting like a fucking coward, running away whenever someone confronts you about it. I've left you alone because I didn't think you meant for things to go so far, but yesterday... You've been treating him like shit and I'm not going to allow it any longer!"

Seething, Pan pushed Bra away from her and unconsciously powered up as well. "Mind your own fucking business, Bra!"

"Trunks _is_ my business," Bra said, her eyes flaring. 

"But this isn't," Pan said, furiously. "I'm playing _him_?! God, Bra, you have no clue what's been happening –"

"Because you won't _tell_ me," Bra cut in. 

"It's none of your _business_," Pan shouted and continued, her voice dropped but still furiously agitated: "I played him, he played me, we played a game and I lost."

"_You_ lost?" Bra repeated, incredulously. "He hardly seems like he won anything, you know."

Pan turned her back to Bra and brought a hand to her forehead, sighing deeply. "I don't _care_. If he doesn't like it, he should've –" She cut herself off and clenched her fists angrily. It was none of Bra's business what he should have done. 

"That's the whole problem, isn't it?" Bra replied venomously, "You don't care. You just don't give a shit about what you're doing to other people."

Pan twirled around, staring at the blue-haired girl. "I can't believe you'd even think that," she said, furiously. "You're only seeing his side of the story." 

"And why do you think that is?" the other girl demanded. "You both have been keeping things secret for me since god knows when. You've avoided or flat out refused talking to me about it and while Trunks, as my brother, isn't indebted to tell me all about his private life, _you_ are. Damnit, Pan, you are my friend and you're supposed to _talk_ to me. Trunks has been an ass lately, and it's your fault." 

"Considering the fact that I've been on the receiving end of his being an asshole the whole month, I don't think you're the one to complain _or_ give me a hard time about it. I've got enough trouble with it as it is," Pan replied, calmer. 

"The problem is, you're giving the rest of us trouble with it. More trouble than you're allowed to get away with without an explanation.." Bra's voice dropped and she gave her friend a shaky half-smile. "God, Pan, what were you thinking?"

Pan sighed. "I told you, it's none –"

"Of my business, yeah, I know," Bra finished for her. "Don't you think you owe me at least an explanation?"

"No, I don't," Pan said, firmly. "Why are you giving _me_ hell about it? Can't you just go bug Trunks?!"

Bra snorted. "Mom's been doing that for the both of us. He's damn lucky that Papa is off to train. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have heard the end of it."

Pan turned away, embarrassed and somewhat insulted. What was so bad for Trunks to be caught in the sack with her? Except for him being fourteen years older than her, that is, and the fact that they weren't even dating, and her being only a third-class saiyan... 

"I want to know how you feel about him, Pan," Bra asked, her voice low.

Pan stared out of the window, unwilling to reply. How was she supposed to tell her friend what she did not know herself? How could she explain that she was not even sure if she wanted him any longer, when she had gone through so much trouble to get him in the first place? How could she _ever_ tell her about the bet, the single most ridiculous thing she had ever done? 

"Why won't you tell me?" Bra asked, quietly. "I hate that you won't. We never keep secrets from each other, Pan. Not even Marron knows as much about me as you do. Why won't you tell me?"

Pan still did not turn around, unable to face her friend. She knew how the girl would look at her and she knew she could not refuse that look – it was the patented Briefs puppy-dog look that both Bra and her brother frequently used on her, knowing that their friend was helpless against it. 

"I don't know," she finally forced out. "I don't know, Bra, I don't know anything anymore. This stupid game got all out of hand and nobody should've known about it but everybody's got their suspicions now and I didn't even win." Her eyes stung and she chewed on the inside of her cheeks to keep her tears back. Really, what a stupid thing to cry over. She was Son Pan. She did not cry over guys, especially if they did not deserve anything but her anger. 

"What was this game?" Bra asked. 

Pan breathed out audibly. "Can't you guess?"

Bra kept quiet for a few seconds. "If you haven't lied to me about this, I'd say one of you challenged the other to seduce him. I'm not sure who challenged who, though." She paused again. "If you say you lost, I supposed he must've seduced you when you said he couldn't."

Pan snorted with humorless laughter. "No, sorry, you got the last part wrong."

"You seduced him?" her friend asked, sounding somewhat surprised. "Well, I guess that does make more sense, but I don't see how you lost? I mean, last night-"

"Well, you know, it wasn't as if we actually finished something... or even really started it," Pan muttered, blushing furiously. She was glad that the other girl couldn't see her face. 

Bra coughed and giggled under her breath. "I didn't think I would ever want to know these things about my brother. Does this make me a sick and twisted pervert?"

The girl's comment had finally completely lifted the tension between the two and Pan laughed outright now. "I think it does." She turned around and looked her friend in the eyes. "I'm..." she broke off and looked down at her feet. She did not have to apologise for acting as she saw fit, did she? She sighed. "I screwed up big time, didn't I?" 

Bra shrugged and smirked. "Depends on your definition of screwing up. If you consider pissing your friends off, hurting them, hurting _Trunks_, having an affaire and being caught by my mom when you tried to keep it a secret, screwing up, then yeah, you did."

"I haven't hurt him," Pan said quietly. "He doesn't care enough to be hurt."

Bra looked at her, her blue eyes dark. She reminded Pan so much of her brother that it hurt. "Don't be ridiculous, Pan.Whatever you two did, you're still friends. You're more than friends, you're as close as family..." she paused. "I'm making you two sound like perverts now, aren't I?"

Pan nodded gravely. 

"Anyway," Bra continued, more seriously, "running off was really in bad taste. You really put Trunks in a lot of trouble, first with that kiss and then yesterday..."

Pan huffed. "He deserved it, every bit of it. He's been _such_ an asshole to me."

"When you were _so_ nice," her friend deadpanned. 

Pan rolled her eyes, then sighed. "I know I shouldn't have run off..." She shook her head. "No, I was in my right to walk away that night in the Viking. You don't – he-" 

Bra gave her a sympathetic look. "He hurt you, didn't he?"

Pan huffed, not replying to that. "Then last night, I just... freaked out. I left him to talk to Bulma, which must've been so... embarrassing..." she trailed off, slowly starting to smirk. "On second thought, no, he deserved that as well."

Bra shook her head. "Trunks isn't as big an insensitive jerk as he pretends to be, Pan. You of all people should know that."

Pan grimaced. "Whatever, Bra. I don't want to talk about it."

"No, that's your problem," replied Bra, but without venom. "So what are you going to do now?"

Pan gave her a look. "I said I didn't want to talk about it. I don't even want to think about it."

"No doubt Goten'll come and ask you about it. Marron, now, she'll wait till you talk to _her_, which will probably be never so I'll just tell her-" 

Pan looked at her best friend in horror. "Stop it, you're freaking me out. You're not gonna tell Marron anything! I swear, Bra, if you do I'll never tell you anything ever again." 

"'s not as if you tell me anything anyway," Bra said, but Pan could hear in the tone of her voice that she was only being recalcitrant. "So if you don't have any plans..."

Pan had a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. She did have a plan, a ridiculous plan that Trunks forced upon her. In the insane rush of emotions since the night before she had completely forgotten about it , but now... 

Oh, he did not deserve anything but her anger. 

"Don't tell Marron anything, Bra. Swear it," she demanded, suddenly very anxious. 

Bra looked at her in surprise. "What? Yeah, I swear it, I won't tell her a thing. What is it?" 

Pan shook her head and smiled shakily. "I just realised just how bad it would be if everybody would find out about last night. I want to forget it ever happened, so... Please, just – don't tell anyone, okay?"

The blue-haired girl nodded solemnly. "I won't."

"And now you should go," Pan added nervously. "I have to go... talk to... someone..." 

Bra's face lit up and Pan knew the girl thought she would be heading to her brother. She was wrong, but Pan was not going to tell her that. She did not want to lie to her best friend, but technically this was not lying; she was merely letting her friend come to the wrong conclusions. Bra had gotten her to spill too much already. She was not going to go through the humiliating experience of admitting that she had been tricked into setting Trunks up with Marron, the one girl who she had always considered a rival when it came to him. 

"Good luck, Pan," Bra said sincerely and Pan forced down the urge to glomp the girl and sob into her shoulder. She was Son Pan. She did not cry over guys. 

Bra opened the window and jumped out, calling a goodbye over her shoulder. Pan stared after her.

She hated Trunks Vegeta Briefs from the very core of her being. 

#####

Pan looked into the glass of the front door and touched the bruises that Trunks had left on her upper arms. 

Had she said she loved him? Heh, sure she did. People uttered worse lies in the passion of the moment. How often did a man tell a woman he loved her during sex, to forget about her in the morning? She did not love Trunks, ofcourse she didn't. Not like that. 

She could not love him if she despised him. She could not love him if with everything he did, he ended up hurting her. She could not love him if he could not read between the lines, if after a lifelong friendship he still could not understand what she really meant, if he could not see what had been right in front of him for so many years. 

Sighing she rang the doorbell and waited for her friend to let her in. 

"Pan, hi! What are you doing here?" The pretty blonde quickly dragged her inside and hugged her enthusiastically. 

"Don't pretend you're not happy to see me, woman," Pan scolded, laughing, and eased her way out of her friend's embrace. 

"I noticed you standing outside for five minutes, Pan, don't you pretend you aren't here for a reason," Marron replied and stuck out her tongue. "Come on, I'll get you something to drink." 

"No, thanks, I'll be going soon," Pan answered, awkwardly shrugging her shoulders, but Marron had already retreated to the kitchen. 

She glanced around Marron's apartment. As usual it was immaculately clean and tidy. She knew that if the blonde got stuck on a story, she would clean almost maniacally until she got over the temporary writer's block. 

Marron worked behind the scenes in a film studio and in her spare time she was a freelance writer for several magazines on diverging subjects. Not only was she smart and creative, but she was also really pretty and very feminine without being affected. Much the opposite of her, Pan, who was a notorious tomboy who could not even pick her major. It was not without reason that Pan had always considered the blonde a rival.

"Why?" Marron came walking back from the kitchen, a glass of coke in each hand. She shoved one in Pan's face, who sighed and took it from her. 

"I'm only here as a favor for Trunks," she elaborated. 

Marron raised her eyebrows, her facial expression urging Pan on. 

"You see, he..." She bit on the insides of her cheeks. "He kind of thought it would be nice to take you out on a date sometime, and because he's..," _a fucking asshole_, "..a wuss, he thought I should be the one to ask you." 

Marron stared at her. 

"So... you know, you could. Go on a date with him, I mean. I'll make him promise to be nice," Pan continued, nervously. 

"So Trunks wants to go on a date with me, but for some reason mister womaniser is afraid to ask me himself?" The blonde frowned. 

"He's probably afraid his title of womaniser will work against him," Pan said sheepishly. This was _not_ working out as planned. Marron was supposed to jump at the chance of dating world's most eligible bachelor and accept without question. She was not supposed to be all suspicious. 

Her friend was staring into the distance, now. "Well, I can't say the thought never appealed to me, I mean, Trunks _is_ gorgeous. And if that whole mess with Hento and the engagement hadn't happened, we probably would have dated." She suddenly turned her piercing blue gaze on Pan. "I don't think I'll go," she said slowly. 

Pan, naturally, freaked. God, there was no way she could come back without a date. The sheer embarrassment of not only losing the bet but also failing to get Trunks his desired prize was too much to bear. She could not do this, she was simply too proud to do this. "Come on, Marron, one date so Trunks' ego doesn't get shattered," she pushed her friend frantically. 

The blonde was looking at her intently. "Sorry, Pan. I'm not going to be your leverage. I don't know what kind of feud you and Trunks have going on, but I don't want to be involved."

"If you're referring to that kiss, that was nothing," Pan stammered. "It was a stupid game, a joke that got out of hand. It meant nothing."

Marron snorted, amused. "Really, you're not kidding anyone. I'm not blind, Pan. Don't expect the women around you to miss the looks you're giving him when you think no one notices. After that kiss even _Goten_ must have a clue, and he's as dense as a brick."

Pan felt her face flush and she glared at her friend. "I'm not kidding," she said, frustrated. "It meant _nothing_."

Marron nodded. "And I bet you feel lousy about that, don't you?"

Pan raised her eyes to heaven and groaned. "Why is everybody out to get me?" 

Marron grinned but, thankfully for Pan, refrained from the "Everybody is not out to get you" comment. 

She sighed deeply. "Just one date, Marron, please. I can't go back without a date." 

Her friend shook her head. "No. Whatever it is you and Trunks have going on, I'm not going to be involved. Besides, I'm not the kind of person who goes off with her friend's love interest."

Pan spluttered. "He's _not_ my-"

Marron ignored her, smiling to herself. "I was wrong, there's _someone_ you are kidding."

Pan shook her head in self-defence and stood up, emptying the glass of coke. "Well, this isn't proving to be fruitful so I'll just head back to Trunks and admit my total and absolute failure." The bitterness of her tone surprised herself and she mentally kicked herself in the shins for admitting something like that to somebody else, even if that somebody else was a good friend of hers. 

Marron did not seem to take her comment seriously though and grinned at her. "It won't be that bad, Pan. Even mister womanizer is used to being rejected every now and then." 

Pan snorted. 

"Good luck with Trunks, then," the blonde grinned at her. 

Pan rolled her eyes and grimaced. "Thanks, I'll need that." She looked at her friend intently. "Are you sure about your answer?"

Marron nodded firmly. "Yup. No way he'll be taking me out like this." 

Pan sighed in defeat. "Fine, then. I'll see you later." 

"Laters," Marron called after her, still smiling to herself. 

##$##

AN: #cackles# Why yes, that _was_ a reference to the fun, fun movie Pirates of the Caribbean. 

I got one review for chapter 7 that completely caught me off guard. I had never thought that a reviewer would be able to nail this situation so completely. #grins at YingFa-lilWolf-Lover# You knew what this story was about before I realised it myself. Go you. 

Heh, it amuses me that I have five pages of notes on this story that you'll probably never read. From the how and why of bonding to several plottwists to one-line ideas to why Trunks picked the full moon as the deadline (not because of some unconcious bonding instinct waggles finger, it's much more mundane than that) to little facts as their ages, majors and jobs. 

Perhaps I should put some of it in the author's notes to explain little things... I don't know if it's necessary, though. Are there things that seem weird to you, details that you think need an explanation? Do tell me and I'll find some way to tell you all. 

Once again betaed by the lovely Noseless Wonder.


	9. Before this night is through

_Edit: #shakes fist at fanfiction dot net# Stop freaking! Where did the enters go? Argh, if the layout is still freaking out when you read this, check the chapter over at my site (link is in my bio. The site won't allow linking in here, either. Grr. You can't even write down ff dot net, it'll kill the word). If you want to review, just use the review button over here. Sigh. I won't say I hate this site, but I don't really_ like _it either, at the moment._

Chapter 9

_Before this night is through_

Once again Pan found herself hovering over Capsule Corps, indecisive and insecure.

Bra was on her side again, somewhat, but she knew she had to confront Bulma sooner or later and if she were out of luck, as she seemed to be, she would probably run into Vegeta as well. And then there was Trunks.

Marron was right, of course. She was kidding herself, had been so ever since Trunks had made it clear he did not want her, not like she wanted him. She had been lying to herself because she could not bear to admit her total failure.

When they had made the bet, she had not known what exactly she wanted from him. Her primary goal had been simply to sate the lust she had felt for so long. However, this month had proved that that would not be enough.

She wanted him in every way she could think of, no matter how hard she tried to hate him. No matter how much she _did_ hate him. She wanted him, body and mind, forever for herself. She wanted to screw him senseless and bear his children and she wanted him never to look at another woman again and she was willing to kill for what she wanted.

She was not ready for those feelings and she definitely was not ready for the fulfilment of those desires. She was only twenty. She was still in college. Lust she knew, lust she could deal with, but these other emotions were too new, too _alien_ –

"Damnit," she hissed under her breath, glaring in the direction of Vegeta's ki. Despite the fact that she was only a quarter Saiyan, everything always came down to her being an alien. "_We don't want to play with you, you freak"._ "_I'm just not comfortable with a girl who can beat me up if she wants to." "You want a mate and your instincts will drive you to the lowest of low to get him."_

With a resigned sigh she floated down. She would seek the Saiyan prince out later. First things first.

######

"Oh, Pan, don't be so embarrassed," Bulma said, apparently barely able to keep from grinning like a madman.

Pan did not know where to look. "But weren't you-" she stammered.

Bulma was still smiling. "Yes, I was shocked. And I won't say it was a wise thing to do, nor do I advise you to continue, but it happens to the best of us."

Blushing furiously, Pan waved her hand and laughed sheepishly. Either Bulma meant being walked in on or being too horny to be careful and she did not want to envision Bulma in either of those situations.

The blue-haired woman's expression sobered. "I assume you're here to discuss –" she raised her eyebrows suggestively "– _that_ with Trunks?" At Pan's nervous nod, Bulma gave her a motherly smile. "Don't worry, he knows he was out of line."

Pan suppressed a sigh. He had been out of line? Ha, if anything, he was going to point out exactly how _she_ had been out of line. "Thanks, Bulma. I'm sorry for scaring you like that," she said, blushing again.

Bulma smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. Go talk to Trunks, he's in his rooms somewhere."

Pan nodded and fled.

######

With another deep sigh Pan pushed open the door, stepping into Trunks' small living room. He had an entire apartment inside the big dome, although he barely spent any time here. He was too lazy to cook for himself and too fond of his family to hide in here, so whenever he stayed over at Capsule Corps., he hung about in the big family kitchen.

She glanced at the window. The sun was setting, like the last time she was here. She did not appreciate the irony.

She hated him. She did not like admitting that he could hurt her, that he _had_ hurt her, but it was the truth and she hated him for that. Nobody was supposed to be able to hurt her, least of all emotionally.

She was proud of being a Saiyan, but her mixed blood had cost her much. Although her family and their close friends had always been loving and supporting, most other people had not. Growing up as a freak or at the very least as an outsider had made her wary of people, even her friends. She simply did not give anybody the opportunity to hurt her.

When the bet was made, she had not thought she had given him that opportunity. She had trusted their friendship, but it had turned out to be a lousy safety net in this madness. In his eyes, she had probably kicked the solid foundation of that friendship from under his feet, shifting his world a full hundred-and-eighty degrees. They had always depended on each other, had always been there for each other, and now he probably thought that their friendship meant nothing more to her than a way into his bed.

That did not make her any less furious with him, however. He should have known. He should have seen. He of all people should have understood her, even when she turned his world upside down. He of all people should not have hurt her.

######

Trunks stepped out of his bathroom, his hair wet, old jeans hanging low on his hips, a towel on his neck. She forced herself not to stare at him, refused to notice how the orange light of the setting sun highlighted every line and bulge of his finely toned body.

"You have the uncanny ability to arrive just when I'm showering," he said, his voice low and impossibly casual.

"It's the only time I can stand the smell of you," she quipped, amazed at her own ability to act as if nothing had happened. The sight of him invoked so many conflicting emotions in her, but the only one she could express without losing any more of her self-respect, was anger or that arrogant amusement that he was so fond of.

He smirked at her. "Is that so?"

She rolled her eyes.

He gave her a long look. "I'm surprised you're even showing your face," he said eventually. "I thought you'd drop me a message with the where and when of my date with Marron and then stay out of sight for the next few months."

She glared at him, her anger returning tenfold. How dare he? How could he be so horribly arrogant and selfish and mean, such a complete and utter asshole? Did he not know he was hurting her with every word he said, everything he did? Did he not _care_?

"Well, yeah, that's the problem – Marron obviously realised what an ass you are, so she refuses to go out with you," she spat.

For a moment he looked at her, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open. Well, _that_ had come unexpected.

"Yes, that's right, despite what you think not everybody likes you," she said cruelly. "In fact, hardly anybody likes you for you. And considering that you're a fucking bastard, I think you deserve it."

His eyes had narrowed to slits and she knew she was treading on dangerous ground, but she did not care.

"You're hardly in the right position to be calling _me_ names," he said, his voice cold. "Go home, little girl. You've had your game. You lost."

"Not because of _you_," she said, furiously. "How dare you – after all of this, how _could_ you –"

"How could _I_? Not everything is about you, Pan!" he snapped, his eyes blazing. "How could _you_?! How could you drop this on me, messing everything up just when Katu and I were starting to work out?!"

Her mouth dropped open. "What?"

He brought a hand to his forehead, wiping his wet hair back with a sigh. "Katu. She's my girlfriend."

"What?" she repeated, almost inaudible.

"We've only been going out for two months. I hadn't mentioned her yet because–" He looked at her, but she avoided his eyes. "For once, I actually liked this girl. A lot."

He started to move to her, but her head snapped up and in a low tone she hissed: "Don't – come – any closer."

With something in between a sob and a snarl she turned on her heels and stormed off.

######

"Running away again?"

Pan twirled around. Through an open door on her right she saw Vegeta standing in a rather empty room, decorated with only a few couches, a few plants and a few tables. She supposed it was a waiting-room of some sorts for Capsule Corps. clients, which raised the question of what the hell the Saiyan prince was doing there. She felt bad enough without having to face him.

"I am _so_ not in the mood for you," she snapped.

Vegeta laughed at that, a short but genuine laugh that surprised her so much that she temporarily forgot about her anger.

"Hormones playing up, huh," he smirked.

"I wish that was it," she muttered, sighing deeply. Suddenly the tears she had been keeping back were threatening to spill. She bit her lip, refusing to break down in front of Vegeta. She did not cry over guys, especially not in front of their father.

With another sigh she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

A shiver ran down her spine as Vegeta looked at her intently, his dark eyes narrowed but not exactly glaring. She had always been wary of the man - he was a wild animal, a dangerous predator under a thin coat of civility. She was not so much afraid of him, though, as she was afraid of how easily she could be exactly like him. Her father and grandfather were more human than not, except for their fighting. She was more Saiyan than either of them, and that unnerved her.

He stepped closer and breathed in deeply, and that unnerved her more.

He was the first to break the awkward silence. "You're not strong enough to claim him as your mate." His voice was calm, almost cool when he said it and he was still not quite glaring.

She balled her fists. "I'm a fucking super Saiyan," she replied, angrily.

"I wasn't talking about your power level," he snapped back, once more glaring at her. "Are you strong enough to _make_ him yours, to fight for him, to fight _with_ him, in different ways than you're used to?"

"What do you think I've been doing?!" she growled. Oh, she hated that arrogant, better-than-thou expression of his, the same one his son wore all too often. Whoever thought up that princes were be the most desirable men of the bunch must have been high. No money or power could make that royal arrogance bearable.

He looked at her, the expression on his face changing back to almost solemn. "You've been letting him slip through your fingers every time you had him."

She did not even wonder how he knew; maybe he did not, maybe he was just a good guesser. Maybe he saw or maybe drew the right conclusion from a lot of small hints. He was far more observant than anyone she knew and the fact that he normally did not use his knowledge, let alone flaunt it in front of other people, meant that this whole mess between her and Trunks was more important to him than he let on. However, that did not make his statement any less demeaning. What was his problem, anyway? If this was not even Bra's business, then it sure as hell wasn't her father's.

"I've not been letting him 'slip through my fingers'," she said, frustrated. "Either he left or someone else came in between."

"You let him go. You ran away every time you had a chance of succeeding," he replied, almost haughtily. "You're terrified. You're not strong enough to claim him."

Only the memory of their last fight kept her from flying at his throat. She was not afraid. She was not weak. "Well, not much chance of any mating now, anyway," she spat. "Apparently he's got a girlfriend and _apparently_ he's quite smitten with her."

He almost seemed surprised at that, but recovered quickly enough, shooting her a glare. "She's human. You're Saiyan."

"Like that's all that matters," she huffed.

"It should be."

"Don't be so damned vague!" she shouted. "Can't you for once stop hinting and flat out tell me what the hell you mean?"

He stared at her, his eyes narrowed, only the hint of a frown on his brow. She noticed almost absent-mindedly that he was remarkably patient with her; any other day he would have finished her off with a scathing remark and walked away long before. She shrugged it off though, blaming it on the prince's unpredictable moods. The man had done stranger things to get what he wanted.

"Fine," he said finally, speaking carefully. "You're a Saiyan female in heat. No Saiyan male is immune to that unless he is bonded or you are."

She sighed, suddenly almost listless. "Why now? I've been full-grown for years, but this has never happened before."

He smirked at her. "It might not have been so strong, but it has. And, of course, your human blood and upbringing mess up normal Saiyan reactions."

"So I am looking for a mate, someone to bond with?" she asked, wiping her hair from her face.

He snorted. "That much should be obvious."

She chewed on the insides of her cheeks. When they were young teens, Bra had told her about the Saiyan bond. At first it had seemed a ridiculously romantic idea to her. Why would such an animalistic race as the Saiyans have an in-built till-death-do-us-part? But Bra, apparently having asked the same thing to her father, had explained it to her. Fighting was in their blood, she had said, and nothing short of a bond could keep a Saiyan from fighting long enough to successfully breed. Only a bond could get a female to let herself get pregnant and only a bond could get a male to feed and protect her and her children. Bonding was the only way to be guaranteed of offspring that would live. That had killed the romance well enough.

Pan had not for a moment thought the theory was implausible; her own grandfather was proof. Painful enough proof. She never doubted that he loved Chi-Chi, that he loved his sons and that he loved her, but it had never been enough to keep him home.

Only then one of his previous remarks seemed to hit home. "_Any_ Saiyan male?" she blurted out, her eyes wide.

"Don't worry, I'm sure your family has too much human blood to feel it." Vegeta gave her a malicious grin and she swallowed, suddenly aware of just how close he was standing. His presence was, in a way, just as overwhelming as Trunks', his ki high enough that she could feel it prickle on her skin, his scent washing over her as he stood almost close enough to touch. His eyes were very dark as he stared at her, as dark as hers. Saiyan eyes.

Her mouth went dry. She did not want to think about him like that. This was Vegeta, for heaven's sake, and he was the _last_, the very _last_ –

With a snarl he turned around and stalked to the door. She stared after him. "Vegeta?"

He stopped. "What?"

"Are you and Bulma bonded?"

He did not turn around. "Don't be stupid. She's human."

She watched him as he exited the room, slamming the door behind him, and stared at the dark wood for a long time after that.

#$#$#$#

AN: #laughs maniacally# Don't kill me yet, I'll make up for this chapter. Somewhat.

Okay, is killing the asterisks and completely messing up the layout. I changed it, but I don't know if it'll actually show up. If it doesn't, I'll change it tomorrow. #mutters under her breath#

Ahem, sorry for the cursing in this chapter and the last. Pan doesn't strike me as the type to shout "Frigging heck!" and "Darn!" Actually, I don't think any of the next generation would.

Yes, in Toriyama's tradition, the name Katu is a play on something. No symbolism or foreshadowing, though, just a mere play of words. It's an understatement to say I'm not fond of symbolism.

Dear god, this story is more than a year old! I think that certainly shows #sweatdrops# Some day I'll rewrite the first chapters.

Once again betaed by the lovely Noseless Wonder. All mistakes are to be blamed on her #grin#


	10. So long before this night is gone

Chapter 10

_So long before this night is gone_

"A girlfriend?!"

Bra's voice sounded dull through the thick door, but the anger was unmistakable.

"Yes. She's coming by for a while tonight. Do you think you could refrain from giving me that look as long as she's here?"

"I am not going to refrain from anything. Trunks, you _idiot_, what the hell are you doing? I thought you and Pan –"

"There is nothing between me and Pan because I have a girlfriend. We've dated for months."

"Then what the hell have you been doing with Pan?!"

"Playing a game that she started and making some huge mistakes in the process. Listen, Bra, you and I both know that I don't want to be with her like that. I –"

"Oh, stuff it. I am so sick and tired of you two _idiots_!"

The door slammed open and Bra stalked out, frustration radiating from her form. She strode to her air car, jumped in and burst away. Her brother stood in the doorway for a moment, looking after her. He then sighed and carefully shut the door.

ooooooo

Pan closed her eyes, pressing her fingers to her head. The cool night air did nothing to soothe her. She was sitting on the canopy, suppressing her ki and feeling very much the stalker. Why she had come to Capsule Corps. again, she did not know. She didn't want to see Trunks. She didn't want to see anyone, for that matter. She felt hurt, betrayed, frustrated, jealous and because of all that, still so angry. She had been flying aimlessly about for a while and somehow ended up at the huge dome once more, only to catch the discussion her friends had behind the front door.

She _must_ be a masochist. Why couldn't she just leave him be? He wasn't worth all this pain.

But then there always was that feeling low in her stomach, that little voice in the back of her head that told her that he _was_, otherwise she would never have gotten into this mess. It was easy to forget about their friendship when he kept on hurting her, and she did not know how much she still believed in that friendship. However, she _knew_ that he had been a good friend and would be a better mate. Only she would never get to experience that, now would she?

She smirked as she envisioned Vegeta's reply to that. The man had accused her of running away, giving up, had told her she was not worthy if she would not fight for his son. He was right, of course, but she simply saw no chance of succeeding. She could not _make_ Trunks love her, especially not when he was all set on Katu. He did not want her, little Son Pan, always the friend.

Vegeta had said that no Saiyan male would be immune to her 'charms' – she coughed, grimacing. That meant that Trunks _had _felt something for her. It meant the burning passion between them had not been a dream. However, it also meant that he had been acting entirely on hormones. Nothing of it had been real.

That hurt almost as much as the fact that he had a girlfriend. If they had both been human, he would never have shown any interest in her. He would never have wanted to kiss her. He would never even have considered the possibility of mating her. The entirety of his feelings for her was based on the fact that she was the only Saiyan woman available to him. He only reacted to her because her heritage called to him.

She angrily chewed on the inside of her cheeks, biting back the tears that were threatening to spill. Pathetic, that was what she was: pathetic and weak. No wonder he did not want her.

ooooooo

An air car landed on the lane, the bright lamps startling her from her thoughts. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the change in light and she saw a young woman exit the car and lock it. Without thinking, Pan jumped from the canopy on the ground and walked towards her.

The woman's hair was long and dark, she noticed, almost as dark as her own. It was bound in a ponytail that bounced up and down as the woman turned around, looking at Pan in surprise.

"Hello," she said, her voice uncertain.

She was wearing jeans and a long coat, a decent look that showed off her nice figure pretty well. Too well, Pan decided, glancing at her own baggy trousers. The woman was very pretty, with delicate features and large, almond-shaped eyes, and Pan guessed that she was in her middle or late twenties.

She realised she had been staring and she frowned, shaking her head. "You're Katu?" she asked.

The woman nodded, her eyebrows raised. "And you – wait, are you Trunks' sister?"

Pan let out a sharp laugh, startling the other. "Almost. I'm Pan." She smirked. "Didn't he tell you about me? I'm the girl he all but fucked yesterday."

Katu's eyes widened, her mouth dropping slightly open. "Excuse me?"

Pan's grin turned malicious. "I'm sorry, I don't suppose he mentioned me."

The other woman was scared, now, she noticed with a bitter kind of satisfaction. Katu was looking at the house as if she expected someone to come out and save her from the freak girl, or perhaps she was estimating the distance from her car to the front door. She was braver than expected, Pan had to admit. "I'm sorry, I need to see him," she said, her voice clear and almost stern, and she made to walk past the quarter Saiyan.

"No, you don't," Pan said, and moved in the other's way.

Katu's eyes grew wider, but she stood her ground. "Look, I don't know who you are, but I ask you to simply let me go inside and see my boyfriend. If – "

She never finished her sentence, because in one furious, ridiculous moment, Pan had punched her square in the face, golden fire bursting up around her. Katu's head flew back and hit the air car with a sickening thud. She slowly dropped down, not making any sound.

Pan stared at the unconscious woman, panting heavily. Her ki was still flaring around her and the world seemed to be burning, beating in the rhythm of her heartbeat, holding its breath while she waited for the inevitable.

ooooooo

He hit her from behind, simply slamming her aside. She flew through the air and hit the ground with her back, the air leaving her lungs in a low groan. As she scrambled up, she heard him talk softly to Katu.

"You're wasting your breath, she's out cold," she said, breathless, turning around. All emotion seemed to have left her when she had hit Katu and she barely reacted when he shot her a death glare, scooped his girlfriend up in his arms and turned on his heels.

"You stay here," he snarled over his shoulder. "I am not done with you."

Pan looked after him when he carried Katu into the house, not replying. For a moment she _had_ wanted to simply sit down and wait, but the idea was ridiculous. She was not going to let the whole of Capsule Corps. listen to him scolding her on the front lawn. Besides, she did not take commands, least of all from him. So, she levitated and calmly flew away, not bothering to choose a direction.

ooooooo

It did not take long for Trunks to catch up with her; she had only just reached the wild lands just outside town. He did not bother to tell her to stop but simply grabbed her arm and dragged her down, all but throwing her on the ground when he landed.

She stumbled and glared at him, rubbing her arm. "Neanderthal," she grumbled.

"What the _fuck_ were you thinking, Pan?!" he snapped, but before she could answer, he raised his hand. "No, I don't think I want to know. You've gone completely out of your mind this time! Just because you're jealous –"

"I'm _not_," she growled, refusing to look at him.

"No? Then what fucking game are you playing?" he demanded, stepping closer to her. His ki was crackling around him, prickling her skin.

"It's _not_ a game," she shouted, suddenly just as furious as he was.

"You're damn right it's not," he shouted back. "You can't – I _forbid_ you to go around hitting people because in your twisted little mind, you think I'm yours!"

She opened her mouth, shut it, jumped at him and punched him in his stomach. With an animalistic snarl, he charged at her, hitting her wherever he could, hardly blocking her blows. She answered with more punches, her fists flying, twisting and turning to stay out of his reach. Neither of them used ki and when they, practically simultaneously, powered up to Super Saiyan, it was more of a ceremonial gesture. It seemed as if they had agreed beforehand to keep the fight basic, almost instinctive.

She did not hold back, lost herself completely in the simple beauty of fighting. Even the raging anger that she had felt before had disappeared to the background, her entire focus on their dance. Never did she feel more alive than in a fight. Her blood was fire in her veins, all her senses were razor sharp, she had fangs and claws and was only a fighting fury, a killer whose single goal was to make him submit or break him.

They did not kiss. He ripped open her shirt, maybe by accident, maybe not. There was definitely nothing accidental in the way he threw her on the ground, or the way she dragged him with her. While they did not stop trying to hurt each other, the fight abruptly turned into something else. They tore through each other's clothes, biting and sucking on bared skin, hands clawing and roaming and rubbing everywhere. No time was wasted on foreplay – she wanted him inside her, right here, right now, and he obviously wanted the same. Impatiently, he shredded the last obstructing pieces of clothing and forcefully pushed in.

If their fight was instinctive, their mating certainly was. Passion was too mild a term – they had gone beyond love, beyond lust; somehow the tension between them had turned into a raging need that needed to be fulfilled right this instant. Her father could have been standing next to them and they would not have noticed.

There were no words for the feelings that ran through her body and even if there were, she would not be able to form them at this moment. She was only sensation. In the raw pleasure of their bodies moving together was a deep feeling of righteousness, like a lock falling into place. She saw him, truly him; saw his fire and his frustration and his love, his anger and his fears. Her whole being sang his name, but she was too far gone to even think about words like love. There was no need, anyway; she would not utter them and he would not accept them from her. Besides, the word hardly was sufficient.

With a hoarse shout she came, clawing her nails in his back, unnoticed tears streaming down her cheeks. He followed her in the next thrust, smothering his cry in her shoulder, his body shaking. Not yet able to think, she pressed him still closer to her, staring up at the sky without seeing anything. For a moment they lay there, both trembling, but as their breathing slowed down, reality seemed to sink in. He was heavy lying on top of her, she noticed, so heavy that there was a slight strain to her lungs with every intake of breath. Both their bodies were sticky from blood and sweat, their hair clinging to their skin. His breath tickled her shoulder with every superficial gasp he took. He was lying on top of her and the moment he would get up, this bizarre dream would turn very real. She pressed her eyes closed and wished that he would wait a moment longer.

He rolled off her and scrambled up until he was sitting on his knees, his eyes fixed on her face. His expression was hard to read in the dark, but the sinking feeling in her stomach told her enough.

"I hate you," he said, softly.

She closed her eyes, biting on her cheek, and turned over. Refusing to acknowledge him or his statement in any way, she curled herself up as a ball and stared into the darkness. She did not need to look at him to know that he stood next to her for a moment, watching her, and then blasted off in the rapidly cooling night.

Eventually she got up, shivering. She felt too numb to use her ki to warm herself, and it took a few tries before she could power up enough to levitate. Wrapping her arms around herself she slowly started to fly home, blaming the tears in her eyes on the wind.

ooooooo

AN: I'm sorry I took so long! I switched studies, moved out, got a social life that actually demands attention and in short, I haven't been able to write much. Well, that and I'm just lazy. Please don't kill me? As said before, I _will_ finish this story. It won't be more than one or two chapters, anyway.

As for this chapter: I'm sorry? #sheepish grin#


	11. I will have claimed you

Chapter 11

_I will have claimed you_

It would have been easier if she had realised sooner that she would come home to her _parents'_ house. It wasn't exceptionally cold for a summer night, but Pan shivered violently as she stood in the garden. She couldn't walk in through the front door naked, that much was obvious. Naked, covered in blood and dirtier than she had been since childhood.

She walked around the house and levitated to her window. It was locked. With a frown, she forced it open. It made more noise than she had hoped and she jumped inside, racing to the bathroom and putting on her bathrobe at a superhuman speed.

"Pan?"

Her father opened her door and looked at her, a stern expression on his face. "It'd be nice if, next time, you'd mention –" he stopped, his eyes widening. "Pan, are you okay?"

She looked up guiltily. "I'm fine, dad. We sparred."

His nostrils flared; only a little, but she knew what it meant. She knew what he smelled. In one step he had crossed the distance to her and grabbed her by her shoulders. "Did he touch you?" he demanded, concern and anger battling for dominance on his face and in his voice.

"Dad," she said, sounding more desperate than she wanted. She looked away.

He put his hand under her chin, lifting her face up, looking her in the eyes for a moment. "That _bastard_," he then said, softly.

"Dad, no," she said, "it's not what you think. It's not at all what you think. Surely you know Trunks better than that."

"You smell of – of.."

"He didn't hurt me, dad. He did nothing against my will," she said, once more looking away.

"You're – why are you protecting him? He did hurt you," her father said.

She shook her head. "Everything he did, he did because I made him. Don't, dad."

She wanted to throw her arms around him, cling to him and bury her face in his shoulder. She wanted her father to comfort her like he had when she was still a child. She wanted him to tell her that everything would be alright, that he would protect her against all harm; but breaking down in front of him would mean that Trunks _had_ hurt her, and that would make this night even more of a disaster than it already was. She knew her father well enough that he, gentle though as his nature was, would seek out Trunks and beat him to a bloody pulp. Even Gohan was familiar with the Saiyan temper when his family was threatened.

So she turned away from her father, moving back to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower," she said, shooting him another look over her shoulder. The sight of him startled her. He looked helpless. She was not used to her father looking helpless, especially not because of her. She took a long breath and stepped into the bathroom, softly closing the door behind her.

xoxox

She slept long and deep; it was late in the morning when she woke up. She pulled the covers up almost over her head and kept her eyes closed, breathing deeply and evenly. Her dreams... She didn't know what exactly she had dreamt before she had woken up, but she still remembered the general feel of it. There had been a lot of commotion and she hadn't been really happy, but throughout the night there had been a feeling of comfort, of security maybe, and a satisfaction so instinctive that she barely realised it was there.

It hadn't left. Perhaps she had been too overwhelmed to notice it yesterday, but now that she thought about it, she was rather sure that it had she had felt it yesterday night, as well.

It was Trunks. He was out of reach for her first five senses and his ki should have been too low to catch on her ki-sense. However, she _could_ feel his ki, and somehow she could sense his presence in the back of her head. She knew that he was sleeping, and that his dreams were about as chaotic as hers, and she felt him unconsciously reach for her as she was reaching for him.

So this was a bond, huh. She rolled on her other side, pulled her legs almost up to her chin and basked in the comforting feeling of his ki, for the moment repressing other emotions. Yesterday she had been overwhelmed by frustration, fury, hurt. Today she realised that she, in spite of everything, had succeeded. She had wanted Trunks, and now she had had him. She was still frustrated and hurt, but she had gotten herself what she had longed for. She might not have won the bet, but in the end she had gotten what she wanted.

The victory was bittersweet, though. She had had Trunks, but at what price? They had loaded frustration on frustration, lust on anger, love on pain, until the load was so heavy that she wasn't sure their friendship would be able to bear it.

Did she hate him? If only it could be so simple.

Ofcourse she loved him. She had loved him all her life. She had hated him for never realising it, hated him more for purposely hurting her when he finally knew. She would have liked to say that she still hated him because that might have made everything a little easier, but she didn't, and she wouldn't lie. Not to herself, at least.

She hated how he had treated her since the night of Marron's party. She hated that he had kept pushing her away, even when they both knew he wanted her. She hated that he had a girlfriend. She hated that he said and did just the things that hurt her most. But for the first time since they had made the bet, she realised that Trunks hadn't had the slightest idea of what he was doing, either.

Her parents avoided the topic altogether. She was sure that her father had told her mother, but when she stepped into the kitchen, Videl didn't say anything about it. Only once did she try to bring the topic of Trunks up and when Pan said she didn't want to talk about it, she left it alone. It gave Pan a mingled feeling – she was proud that her parents trusted her enough to handle things on her own, but she felt ashamed that she had let them down and kept them in the dark. Her parents knew she'd had boyfriends and her mother knew or at least suspected that Pan had had sex before. And while her parents didn't encourage that, they couldn't forbid it, either.

However, this situation was much more complicated. She and Trunks weren't in a relationship. They weren't even dating. He was an old friend of the family and fourteen years her senior. Her parents knew she'd had a crush as a kid, but they wouldn't have dreamed that she'd ever actually act on it. Nor would they have expected Trunks to return her feelings. She knew they wanted an explanation, but as for now, she wasn't willing to give one.

For a few days, she managed to avoid Trunks. It was as simple as not visiting Capsule Corps., since he didn't come looking for her either. Instead she met up with friends from college, sparred with her father and trained by herself.

Her feelings were confusing her. Something had changed when they had had sex, but she wasn't sure what exactly. She was still mad at him for the way he had treated her, that much hadn't changed. However, the overpowering need to see him, feel him, fuck him, _have_ him, seemed to have toned down to a desire that was almost acceptable. He was still continuously on her mind, but it was more like it had been before the madness. He was on the back of her mind, not at the center of her attention.

Madness indeed. Her cheeks burned merely at the thought of it. She had made a fool out herself, over and over again. These past few days she'd felt as if she were coming down from a high. It reminded her of what drugs supposedly did to people: she remembered what she had done, but the reasoning that at the time had felt logical, made sense no longer. She didn't know what had possessed her to make the bet in the first place

xoxox

She had known she couldn't avoid her friends forever, but it was just ironic to run into them when she was trying so hard to stay away. She had gone into town on an errand for her father, when she walked into Bra and Marron on the sideway.

"Pan?" Marron exclaimed, happily. "Good to see you! Where have you been hiding, lately?"

Bra just looked at her.

"Bra, Marron, hi," Pan said, slightly breathless. She lowered her eyes, unable to meet her friend's gaze.

Marron looked from Bra to Pan and back. "Okay, what am I missing here?" She frowned. "This doesn't still have to do with that night in the Viking, does it?"

Pan blushed and shook her head, while Bra shrugged her shoulders and looked at her pointedly. "Nothing, Marron," she said, keeping her gaze on her black-haired friend, "Unless Pan has something she's forgot to tell us."

Oh, yes, she was Vegeta's child. "Nothing," Pan said, silently cursing the give-away blush on her cheeks. "But hey, I gotta run, my dad's expecting me. I'll see you guys later!"

Marron nodded, a puzzled look on her face. "Okay, we'll see you."

"Yeah, you will," Bra said, still looking at her.

Pan flashed a nervous smile and all but ran away, inwardly calling herself a coward.

xoxox

When she came home, she knew she couldn't evade her friends any longer. Besides, she shouldn't keep running away. She wanted to, but she knew she shouldn't. She'd been running away the whole month, and it hadn't done her any good. At least, that was what people would like her to believe.

She shook her head sharply. "You're not backing out of this, Pan," she mumbled to herself.

"Bra came by. She's in your room," her father said when she walked into the living room. Pan smiled at him, braced herself and headed to her bedroom. The door was open and her friend was sitting on her bed, a pensive look on her face. "So you and Trunks _did_ have sex," she said, by manner of greeting.

Pan felt the heat rush to her face again. "Why would you say that?" she blurted out and hastily kicked the door shut.

"I came to the conclusion that the only reason you could have for avoiding us, was that you and Trunks had another confrontation." The blue-haired girl sighed and pulled Pan's pillow on her knees, almost cuddling it. "Did you really have to be so stupid?"

"Don't blame it all on me," Pan said, offended. "Trunks – "

The blue-haired girl leaned on the pillow, one hand under her chin. "Oh, Pan, you know just as well as I that Trunks would've managed to avoid you long enough. You were the one who went looking for him."

Pan frowned. "He's the one that jumped _me_."

Bra looked at her pointedly. "After you knocked Katu unconscious.What was he supposed to do? Either way, you shouldn't have been at Capsule Corps."

"And why shouldn't I?" Pan snapped.

"Because you screwed up everything," her friend replied coolly.

Pan glared at her. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Either way, it's none of your business."

That earned her an indignant look. "He's my _brother_."

Pan rolled her eyes. "And he's got his own life," She dropped down on the bed next to Bra, but kept a considerable distance between them. The girl _was_ Vegeta's daughter, and she had inherited both her parents' temper. The past had proven her to be a little touchy on the subject of her brother and Pan didn't really want to be within arm's reach if she managed to piss the Saiyan princess off.

"Which you royally screwed up," said Saiyan princess replied.

"Which, I repeat, is none of your business," Pan snapped. "Why are you so against us as a couple, anyway? You're the one who encouraged me in the first place!"

"And I was stupid." Bra sighed and hugged the pillow close to her chest, looking at her friend with huge, serious eyes. "It was a stupid, pubescent idea that sounded like it was fun, my best friend dating my brother. I never –" She looked at Pan helplessly. "I never thought you'd actually do it, and... I've seen Trunks, you know. I know my brother. He isn't happy with the situation."

Pan rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Well, he's the one who can change that."

For a moment Bra stared at her. "Pan – have you for a second considered the possibility of him not returning your feelings?" she then asked, a worried look on her face.

Pan frowned. "How is that still relevant?" She shook her head. "Bra, I didn't _rape_ him. I didn't even seduce him. He was in it just as much as I."

The other girl gave her a scandalized look. "You were in _heat_."

"What does _that_ change?" Pan said, indignant.

Bra threw her hands in the air, rolling her eyes. "How in the world was he supposed to resist you?"

"Vegeta could," Pan huffed. "It's not like men go crazy because of it, Bra."

"Only as crazy as you've been, these past few weeks," Bra retorted. "My father's twice Trunks' age. He's got a massive amount of experience. And your attention was on Trunks. You were after him."

Pan blushed. "He knew that and he consented."

Bra shrugged. "No doubt he got tricked by his pride, but that's –"

"You're making excuses for him."

Bra blinked twice. "That doesn't change the fact that you've literally been irresistible to him," she then said, patiently.

Pan looked down at her hands, pressing the nails of one hand into the fingertips of the other. "I didn't _know_ that, right? And I don't think that would've changed a thing."

Bra looked at her friend. "You love him." It wasn't even a question.

Pan closed her eyes. "I don't even know what that means, Bra. But I want him, at pretty much any price."

"Even when he doesn't really want you?" Bra's voice was soft now, worried even.

Pan didn't dare to look up. "It doesn't make a difference now, does it?"

"What do you mean?" Bra asked, confused.

"Nothing..." Her voice trailed off.

For a while they just sat on the bed, avoiding each other's eyes. They seemed to be in that position rather often, these days. The thought almost made Pan grin. Almost – if there hadn't been something she really wanted to know.

"Does he really hate me?" she asked, meekly.

Bra looked at her. "You of all people should know better."

Pan flinched. "I don't. I – I hate him, Bra." She could not look at her friend. "I hate him for – Why wouldn't he hate me, if I do?"

Bra kept silent. "You can't hate somebody if you don't love him," she eventually said.

Pan sighed. "Ofcourse he loves me. I'm his friend..." Her voice trailed off, uncertain.

"Are you still?" Bra asked.

She stared at the floor. "I don't know."

xoxox

AN: Eh. I'm sorry, this absence is simply inexcusable. I could tell you that I've been very busy with college and people, which is true, but that doesn't change the fact that I could have written _something_. As it is, I just didn't feel like writing fanfiction. If you're really desperate for my fiction (or you just want to nag at me for finishing this), there _is_ a link to my fiction livejournal on my user page.

As for the chapter: No, this is obviously not the end. And yes, I _will_ finish this story. I have said it before and I will say it again, but unless I die or lose my hands, this story _will_ be finished. If you're really unsure about it, feel free to email me. It's rather annoying to have people ask me "Are you ever going to finish this?" in reviews. Makes me say "Yes, I will!" to the computer, and the poor thing doesn't care.

P.S. (and yes, this is getting long, sorry for that as well)

I don't normally react to reviews in my author's notes, but this one just annoyed me too much. Dark Witch Pan, I wish I could say I didn't give a damn about whether you think Pan is a slut or not, but unfortunately, I do.

I'm going to say this only once: a woman who wants and enjoys sex is _not_ a slut. A slut is, and I quote the Cambridge international dictionary of English here, _a woman who has sexual relationships with a lot of men without any emotional involvement_. In this story, Pan only has a sexual relationship with Trunks and she is very much emotionally involved, so she is _obviously_ not a slut.

(and I won't even go into the fact that nowadays, women _can_ have one-night-stands and not be sluts. I would define 'slut' as a person (woman _or_ man) who has sex with anyone who is willing, regardless of anything).


	12. You will be mine

Chapter 12

_You will be mine_

The problem, Pan realised, was that she _had_ to see Trunks again. Even if she could bear never seeing him again, it wasn't actually possible to avoid him forever. The only way she could manage that was to run away from her family and friends, to never come home again – and that was simply never going to happen.

It was her first venture into the Briefs' house since the 'incident', and she was nervous. She didn't know who she was visiting, this time, and she didn't know whether she wanted to see any of the Briefs' family members. However, she would have to face them again, and sooner was probably a better option than later.

Would Trunks still be together with Katu? She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't keep something like this secret. Katu wouldn't want to be together with someone who cheated on her, would she? The two hadn't know each other that long, yet, so her feelings for him were probably not strong enough to forgive his cheating. Also, Trunks would probably not have told her that he wasn't completely human. He couldn't use the fact that Pan had been in heat as an excuse.

She shook her head and rang the bell. She had to wait a few moments, and the temptation to leave was great. But she couldn't. She _had_ to do this.

Vegeta opened the door. She blinked and then glared at him. Vegeta didn't open doors. What Prince in his right mind would?

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say," she said coolly, attempting to walk past him.

He grabbed her arm and pushed her into the wall. She let out an indignant yelp and tried to break free, but his grip was too strong. Before she could ask him to let go, however, he forced her two hands in one of his, freeing his other hand. He touched his forehead and slid his fingers down his body to cup his crotch, then laid his hand on her head. He muttered something in what was probably Saiyan and then touched her stomach.

"What?" she asked, indignant.

His face was solemn, his scowl all but gone. "You're fertile. You'll bear a prince."

Abruptly he let go and walked away, not even looking at her.

She scowled at his back. "Alien freak," she mumbled under her breath. That probably made sense in some weird, Saiyan way. A prince? As if she'd want to have another one of those in her life. Arrogant bastards. Either way, she wasn't going to waste time on _Vegeta_, of all people. She chewed on her cheek. Better stop avoiding the inevitable, she decided, and started walking in the direction of Trunks' rooms.

xoxox

"Briefs."

"Son."

They looked at each other wearily. There was a safe distance – fifteen feet – between them, but his scent was heavy in the air and it was as enticing as ever. As frustrated as she might be with him, physically he was still irresistible.

Would he still be angry with her? She had watched him all her life, but still she couldn't tell.

"I wish I could say I was sorry, but I'm not," she eventually said, "and to be honest, I don't think it would help even if I were."

He looked tired and uncomfortable, and he spoke the words that she so desperately hadn't wanted to hear. "I don't love you, Pan."

She pressed her eyes closed, opened them a second later. Light played over his skin, painting shadows under his eyes. Why did he always have to be so godforsakenly beautiful? Then again, maybe that was just her. She sighed. "Do you love me as a friend?" she asked, carefully.

He frowned, rubbing his hand with his thumb. "Yes."

She hesitated. "Do you want me?" She looked at him from under her eyelashes.

"I – Yes," he said. He was still frowning, looking slightly confused. It made him look younger, somewhat less perfect, a look that made her want to hold him and keep him safe, even though the idea was ridiculous. The only one who was causing him problems at the moment was _she_. If she wanted to protect him from herself, holding him was obviously the last thing she should do.

"Do you want me to be happy? Do you want to protect me against harm?" she continued, her eyes fixed on his face.

He shook his head at her redundant questions. "You know I do."

"And am I constantly on your mind, one way or another?"

He looked at her and she knew the answer, she could feel it in the back of her head, in the pit of her stomach. He kept silent, but she knew.

"Then what's the difference?" she asked, softly.

His eyes widened a tad.

She looked at the floor, running a hand through her hair. It was up to him, now. It had been up to him since they had made the bet. She had given him the cue; he was the one who had to finish it.

He stepped towards her, slowly, as if he were afraid to frighten her away. She let out a low chuckle. Perhaps he had deserved the right to be that cautious, this last month. It wasn't necessary, though. It was too late for running, however frightened she might be. For once, she wasn't going to be scared away.

He was standing in front of her, unmoving. "Aren't there supposed to be butterflies?" he asked.

She laughed again, though it hurt. _Her_ stomach was filled with them, that much she knew. Her belly hadn't quite been the same since they started the bet. "As well as rose petals, lyrical music and little, red, floating hearts? Trunks..." Her voice trailed off as she reached out to him, carefully touching his arms. His skin was hot, soft, the tiny hairs on his arms tickling her palms as her hands slid down his wrists. She could feel his pulse speeding up under her fingers. "Besides," she continued, smirking without realising it, "can you honestly say your heart doesn't jump at the thought of us?"

He laughed, condescendingly. "That's lust."

She had laid her hands in his and he grabbed them gently, lifting both their hands up before releasing hers. A very vivid memory washed over her, the feel of his hands trailing over her body, teasing, stroking in all the right places. His scent filled her nostrils, clouding her brain. Oh yeah, this was lust, he was right about that.

"And how does that differ from a crush?" she retaliated, trying to keep her voice from sounding breathy.

He had to smile at that, a quick movement of lips that raised memories of licking and biting. And yet he said: "I don't want this, Pan."

The words hurt her, but not as much as they would have if he hadn't been tracing his hands down her sides. She stood very still, only her eyes on him. "Can you honestly say that, after everything you just admitted you wanted?"

He let go of her and stepped back. She bit her lip. What the hell were they doing? She was trying to convince him that it would be okay to be together, while he tried to bring up every excuse not to be exactly that. And meanwhile they were enjoying what basically amounted to foreplay. She had promised herself not to run away, true, but wasn't it plain stupidity to try and talk him into having a relationship with her? He didn't want to. He flat out told her he didn't want to be with her.

And yet she couldn't. This whole month she had run when she shouldn't have. And now she was finally in a situation where walking away would be okay, where it would be the right thing to do, even, and she couldn't let go. Running away this last time would mean she lost Trunks, possibly forever. She saw no way of truly re-establishing their friendship. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be satisfied again with only that friendship.

"I could've been very happy with Katu." He sighed.

She grimaced. "Does that mean you'll never be happy with me? Or do you want the freedom to date? Go right ahead, I might just do the same."

He stared at her. "What is it you want from me, Pan?" His hands stilled on her hips. They were very warm, Pan noticed absently, and the feeling was comforting despite the conversation they were having.

She closed her eyes. "You." She sighed. "I want you, Trunks, you know that. I don't know how that should work. I don't know how it would've worked had this situation been normal. Had we been normal. I..." She bit her cheek. Did she really dare to tell him this, to finally let him in on the mess in her head?

"Will you hurt me again?" she asked, her voice meek.

He seemed honestly abashed, but he didn't answer. She knew why. He couldn't tell her he wouldn't hurt her, because he might have to. He wouldn't do it for the purpose of hurting her, but if necessary, he would do it.

However, to stabilize their relationship, whether it was friendship or something more, they would have to be completely honest with each other. The only way to make sense out of this mess, would be to try and explain their actions to each other. If they couldn't figure out this situation, their friendship would simply be gone. Done. Misused and broken.

She breathed in deeply. "I've wanted you for a long time, Trunks. It was probably inevitable that my childhood crush would be fuelled by my being in heat, by your Saiyan blood. This time, I just... I decided I would have to make a move." She sighed again. "I didn't know what I wanted. I still don't."

He had been looking at her, his blue eyes fixed on hers, making her nervous. Now he slowly put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her against him, folding his arms around her. She clutched at his shirt, hugging him back. He was so warm, his smell so comforting. If they could only stay like this, everything would be okay. They would never have to talk again.

"Please, Trunks," she whispered. "Please tell me why you kissed me." She buried her head in his shoulder, breathing in his scent. He slowly lead her to the couch and pushed her down. "Sit," he said, smiling, and sat down next to her.

She looked down at her hands lying in his. He was absent-mindedly tracing her fingers with his thumbs. It didn't feel odd to be touching like this, she noticed. It hadn't, not since the 'incident'. The reason that it probably _should_ have felt odd, or at least noticeably different, was that they had never touched like this. Their friendship had always had a distinct physical aspect, yes, but not in this manner. He was caressing her hands like a long-time lover, as if touching her was as natural as breathing. And apparently, he didn't realise it himself.

Did he not know about the bond? The idea seemed ridiculous; she could feel him in the back of her head as a physical thing. Not in the way she felt his hands touching hers, but more like the way she felt her own hands: a simple certainty that they were _there_. It seemed insane that he would not feel the connection between them.

But yet... Could it feel so natural to him that he had simply not noticed?

She shook her head. "You _do_ realise-"

"I don't know what came over me," Trunks began, cutting her off. He looked at her questioningly, but she waved at him to go on. "It all started out clear enough. I hadn't expected your.. birthday request, at _all_, and it seemed only natural to make a game out of it."

She grinned, familiar enough with him to know that that was indeed what he tended to do when surprised. Though usually, he only used that trick in business situations. Unlike his father; Vegeta would do that in fights.

"But then I got too close," she said.

He nodded. "I never intended anything to happen. I never thought you'd actually do it, and I certainly didn't think I would. It took me long enough to realise you were in heat and that I should get as far away from you as possible."

"And you were too proud to tell me that you were scared, too arrogant to give up the bet," she added. It actually made sense, in that weird, male way. He sure as hell wasn't going to let her win or even show her that she stood a chance, but since he didn't want to mess anything up with Katu, he wasn't going to be near her, either. Only that didn't work out quite as planned.

His eyes narrowed. "I won, didn't I?"

She snorted. "Yeah, you did. But you screwed everything up nonetheless and I still got what I wanted."

"Is this what you wanted, Pan?" he said, sharply. "Mess up my life? Embarrass yourself? Embarrassing both of us to the point where I don't dare to ever see any of your family members again?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I wanted you. And I have you."

"_Had_ me."

"_Have­_ you." And, before he could retort, "Oh, be that way, I don't care." She stood up, pulling her hands away from his, and turned around so she could sulk in the general direction of the window.

If he had been more mature, he might have tried to get her back to sit and talk, but he wasn't that big a person. When he saw the opportunity to shut his emotional barriers down, he took it with both hands. So much for maturity.

"I'm not yours, Pan. Can't you finally stop daydreaming?" he snapped.

"Oh, you -" she choked on her curses. "Are you really _this_ ignorant? Can't you feel it?" She cut him off when he opened his mouth, snapping: "No, it's not love," and in a movement that was really just a physical continuation of her sentence, she stepped into him. It was almost ridiculous how he leaned into her, the moment they touched. Almost, but her breath caught like his and the intensity of even this not-quite-touching was almost mind-numbing. _I hope this fades,_ she thought dryly, once again reminded of a drug addiction. She would have been scared of her loss of thought, if it hadn't felt so natural. Surely a drug addict would know in the back of his mind that his habits were wrong, right, even though the high felt so good? This didn't feel wrong. She was still angry with him, yes, and hurt, but it just wasn't that important when his skin touched hers.

"We're not done," he said, his eyes still narrowed but not quite glaring.

"No, but I think we deserve a break," she said lightly, stood up on her tiptoes and softly touched her lips to his.

xoxox

"If you keep on doing that, people might start to think you're a couple," called a familiar voice dryly.

They broke apart, bewildered, and saw Bra standing in the doorway. The look on the girl's face was serious, but as she saw the nervous expressions on their faces, a light smile flew over her lips. "Well, are you?"

Pan looked at Trunks, Trunks at the ground. "No," he said. Pan rolled her eyes at him.

Bra raised her eyebrows. "Ah. Because friends kiss each other like that all the time. Marron's going to be so happy with me."

"Just get out," Trunks snapped. Behind his back, Pan mouthed 'idiot' and gestured to him, rolling her eyes again. Bra snorted. "Whatever," she said, walking off.

Pan looked at Trunks. He looked back. "Why are you smiling?" he asked her, an almost indignant expression on his face.

"Nothing," she said, still unable to keep the grin off her face. Maybe it was a ridiculous idea, but she was starting to think everything _would_ work out. And the fact that Trunks was still oblivious to it was amusing, to say the least. It wasn't that she wasn't angry with him anymore; he still could hurt her – _was_ still hurting her. It wasn't as if they would be running off into the sunset together and everything would be perfect forever. It wasn't love, he was right about that. But she finally realised that it didn't have to _be_ love. Not yet.

His eyes were narrowed; he was obviously annoyed with her mood changes. She smirked. "I think I'm off. You don't seem to be very happy with me at the moment."

"We're not finished," he said again.

She smiled, kissed him briefly and turned on her heels. "No, we're not."

oXoXoXoXo

o

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

Yes, this is actually the end. You made it, congrats.

XoXoXoXoXoX

o

oXoXoXoXo

AN: No, I'm not kidding, this _is_ the end. YWBM is finally finished. I kinda feel sorry for the people who have been reading this since the start; three years, sheesh, you've had to be patient. Hope you enjoyed it; I definitely did.

There's a small chance of me going back to rewrite the first chapters. There's a bigger chance of me writing some kind of epilogue for this. It just might take a while; I'm rather busy with my original writing and the tons of papers I have to do for my classes (not to mention work, hobbies and social life). There's a link to my writing journal in my user info, if you're curious.

Thank you for your wonderful comments throughout the years, and thank you, Noseless Wonder, for betaing most of this story. You've all been great :)

Go to chapter 11


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